


If

by organizedmess



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-06-16
Updated: 2012-01-11
Packaged: 2018-02-28 11:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2730344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/organizedmess/pseuds/organizedmess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Misty is depressed over Ash getting a new female traveling companion. As an exciting new tournament approaches, Misty is caught between her past and her future. Can she move on or will history repeat itself? Also on FanFiction.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was originally written and published on fanfiction.net. As of right now it is still under hiatus.

It was a bright and sunny day and Misty had just defeated her last challenger of the day. It was a beautiful day outside with the Pidgeys singing and children laughing down at Cerulean's beach. Yet, after the gym was empty and Misty had finished taking care of the Pokémon and maintaining the gym, she drew the curtains of her room, curled up in bed with Ben and Jerry's Phish Food and watched Titanic. Nearly all of Misty's days ended this way anymore.

Misty's sisters were on their tour, so she had the gym all to herself. She had been fighting with this problem since Ash informed her that he had a new female traveling companion. Ash seemed so happy and talked quite a bit about how great May was during their bi monthly videophone calls. They talked about once every two week, with a few minor exceptions, yet, knowing that he had so clearly moved on and left her without blinking an eye hurt her so deeply that she couldn't find the will to keep up the smile once she was alone.

Misty was ashamed of how she was dealing with her troubles. She tried not to be alone if she could help it, it made denying easier. Along with her calls with Ash, she would visit Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak about once a week. Visiting them kept her from getting too into her cycle of self pity. Misty tried to avoid Mrs. Ketchum though, since visiting her always made her nostalgic and as a result, think of Ash. When she was at the lab, Professor Oak would always tell her the latest on water Pokémon and then she would wander around the ranch, loving to see all the different types of Pokémon it held. She would reminisce with Tracey when the Professor could spare him and Gary would make snide comments whenever they shared the same room, Misty went out of her way to avoid him because of this.

It had gotten to be a rather pathetic cycle. When Misty was being honest with herself, she had to admit, she was miserable. As she took a particularly large bit of her Phish Food, she couldn't help wishing her romantic life could fall into place like a chick flick, though without the heartbreak that often seems to accompany it. No Jack freezing to death, no cheating boyfriend, no stupid misunderstandings. Nothing but a perfect happily ever after. But there was no happily ever after for her. Ash had left her and forgotten her. Her chance at happily ever after was long gone.

There she went again. Damn self pity. It was a vicious circle that she never seemed to be able to break.

Finally fed up with herself and her pathetic rut, she decided to do what she generally did when this notion hit her. Run and ignore the problem. She turned off the TV, put the ice cream back in the freezer, and ran out to her bicycle. Desperate to be around anyone, she booked it to Pallet Town, drenched in repel to keep the nasty, creepy, disgusting bugs away. She was in no mood to deal with the little beasts.

When Gary opened the large wooden front door, he was greeted with the sight of a rather out of breath, bedraggled Misty.

"Well, look at what the Meowth dragged in," Gary sneered.

"Shut up, Oak and get me some water," Misty said as she forced her way in to flop down on the plush red couch residing in the center of the living room.

"I'm sorry, Red. I don't go out of my way for losers like you," Gary said, walking back to the stairs on his way to the study.

"OAK!" Misty screeched, using the boost of energy her anger gave her to get off the couch, grabbing the scruff of his shirt. "I am in no mood to put up with your attitude right now, so get me some water before I sick my Gyarados on your player boy ass!"

"Geez, Red. If you wanted to manhandle me so badly, you could have just asked." Gary said, chuckling on his way to kitchen, sporting that infuriating smirk that made Misty want to pummel him into little tiny irritating pieces.

"As if I would ever be interested in you, you egotistical pig!" Misty yelled, before flopping back down exhausted on the couch, her momentary burst of energy spent.

"Hey Misty!" Tracey greeted, coming in through the back door from the ranch, his sketchbook stashed under his arm.

"Hey Tracey! What have you been up to?"

"Just out sketching some of Ash's latest catches. It's always fascinating to see all the different Pokémon there are out in the other regions. They're all so different. Like…"

Great. Ash again. Just when she thought she'd escaped his memory for a little bit, he comes up again. She could just picture his excitement at this latest catch, the fire in his eyes. He would probably give her the play by play in their call, if he ever remembered to call, but it just wasn't the same. A wave of gut wrenching pain washed through her. Despite this, she forced a smile and feigned interest in what devolved into Tracey babbling.

Thankfully, she didn't have to suffer too long.

"Well Carrot-top, here's your water." Gary said carefully handing Misty the glass. Misty was about to take a sip when she noticed a small Caterpie clinging to the side to the side of the glass. Misty's eyes grew twice their normal size as she froze. She then dropped the glass, screaming and yelling for it to get away from her perch on the couch, and perhaps a number of mild profanities, spilling the water on the hardwood floor. Gary was doubled up laughing while Tracey simply rolled his eyes and entered the fray to rescue the very frightened and likely traumatized Caterpie.

"You should have seen your face, Red! Priceless!"

Oh. He was going down. But, Gary quickly took this as a very wise moment to exit to the lab. Misty had been around enough for him to realize that her mysteriously appearing mallet was something to truly be feared. He had the bruises to prove it.

"Get back here you spineless little Furret!" Misty screamed after him.

"You know Misty, he just likes to get under your skin. He's really not such a bad guy. I don't see why you two have to fight all the time. I swear he's not always like this. He's actually pretty cool, I promise," Tracey said.

And here we were. Back to Ash. Sure it didn't sound like it was about Ash, but she knew why she treated Gary like she did was all Ash's fault and she was pretty positive Ash was Gary's reason too. Gary was Ash's rival, so of course Misty had eventually just picked up treating Gary like the enemy after awhile as well.

But, then again, perhaps that was a way to break free of Ash. If she let go of her preconceived notions about Gary, then perhaps they could stop this war they had every week. Maybe trips the Oaks wouldn't always consist of her swearing she'd wring Gary's neck. Maybe she might actually relax while she was here.

But, he always seemed to start it with those jabs. She just couldn't control herself once he started.

"I doubt we'll ever get along, Tracey," Misty said. "But, I'll try. I make no promises for his safety if he pushes me, though."

"That's all I can ask for, isn't it? What do you say we take a walk? Maybe we could even convince the Professor to let us have a picnic since the weather is so nice."

"Yea. I'd like that!"

The two wandered around the ranch for a few minutes talking about all manner of things. Ash was brought up several times, from passing his herd of Tauros to Tracey spotting some of his latest catches, it seemed little bits of Ash were everywhere. It hurt Misty to see some of the Pokémon he used in his original journey here. They looked happy, but she could tell that they were missing Ash. So he'd tossed them aside, just like he'd done to her, in favor for the newest catch. They could only wait until he wanted them again. She was in exactly the same boat. It was cruel really.

Misty settled down beside the lake near the edge of the ranch. She released Starmie and Gyarados, letting them enjoy some time in the water with the other Pokémon. Tracey excused himself to pitch their picnic idea to the Professor. Misty was thankful for a chance to just relax. Sure, Tracey was a great guy, but Misty had grown rather accustomed to life alone anymore and sometimes a body of water was all the more companionship she really wanted or needed.

Misty noticed the sun was just starting to set, beginning to tint the few clouds a beautiful shade of orange. The ride back to Cerulean City was going to suck in the dark, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Besides, tomorrow was a Saturday and Saturdays had been the days when her sisters put on shows when they had been running the gym. Since there were no more shows, Misty decided to make Saturdays a day off. Professor Oak would probably let her stay the night if she asked. If nothing else, she'd get Gary to give her a ride back, no matter how much she'd rather hit herself with her own mallet as hard as she could than ask him.

There she went again being harsh on him. She had promised Tracey she would try to be nice to the devil and here she was already breaking her promise, even if it was just mentally.

She broke from her reverie long enough to realize that Gary was standing a few feet behind her. Speak of the devil.

His white lab coat was flowing around him, played with by the light breeze, which was also blowing the spikes of his hair ever so slightly. The sun's dying light was highlighting his strong bone structure, putting a strange gleam in his eyes that Misty wasn't sure she'd ever seen before. Then again, she'd never seen him the sunset either. Though Misty didn't mean to, she found herself gawking. She knew Gary was good looking, sure. But today she realized just how good looking he really was.

"This is one of my favorite spots on the ranch," Gary said, still staring out at the landscape. Misty turned back around to enjoy the scenery again. It truly was a gorgeous spot. In the distance, Pallet's shore could be seen. There were a few rolling hills speckled with foliage separating the ranch and the beach. Finally, the lake in which her Pokémon splashing completed the picture, the airborne water droplets catching the sun's light, making a spectacular light show. It was a peaceful place; that much was certain. "The only place that's better than this is the view from the roof," Gary mentioned. "Sometimes I go up there to escape from Gramps or just to think. You can see everything for miles around. On really clear days, you can spot Mount Moon from up there.

"I bet the view is really amazing up there," Misty sighed.

"Yea."

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, Gary eventually plopping down next to Misty in the grass.

"So, what's been eating you, Red?" Gary asked.

Misty abruptly faced him, a mix of anger and fear in her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been pretty jumpy all day. And the fact that you look like you would happily shove your mallet down my throat at the moment is a pretty good indication I'm on the right track." Misty instantly blushed, irritated that he'd figured it out. She thought she'd been hiding it fairly well. "So, what's up?"

"Nothing I care to talk about. It's my problem and I can deal with it," Misty proudly stated, steeling her gaze back to the sunset.

"Pfft. Like you even believe that yourself. Talk about denial," Gary said, reclining on one elbow in the grass.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Misty asked, her voice dripping with venom.

"Just that you can't deal with whatever this issue is or that you don't want to deal with it alone. If you were fully confident in your decision, you wouldn't show up at my door looking like an Ursaring almost got you only to spend the time here having light-hearted chats. So, I'd like to know just what's got miss hot head's panties all in a bunch."

Misty couldn't help grimacing at his reference to her underwear. She sighed. It was like he was Brock or something. Brock could always read her, no matter how hard she would try to hide something. From catching a cold and trying to hide it to her not so little crush on Ash, Brock knew everything, which is probably why he was always asking her if she was ok with that knowing look during their calls. But, this wasn't Brock. This was Gary. Gary, the egotistical playboy genius, was noticing her feelings. She wasn't sure whether to be shocked or flattered, really.

But, one thing was for sure, he probably wasn't going to take no for an answer. Despite this, she simply couldn't find a way to start. She sounded pathetic, even to herself. She didn't want to fathom how pathetic she would sound once she said it out loud.

"Alright. You don't have to tell me," Gary conceded.

Wait… What? Gary was backing down? But why? She hadn't told him anything yet, not even a bad cover up story!

"I just figured you wanted to vent, but hey, not my life, right?"

"Why are you backing down so easily?" Misty forced herself to ask.

"Because, you're probably not ready to tell. Just because something can be eating you up inside doesn't mean that you're always ready to share it with others, especially to someone you don't really get along with in the first place." Gary smirked making Misty giggle.

"Hey, we're having a civil conversation for once though. That's a start, right?" Misty inquired with a smile.

"To a new beginning?" Gary asked, sitting up and pantomiming a raised glass.

"To a new beginning." Misty said, clinking her invisible glass with his. Both look a mock swig.

They sat in a comfortable silence for about a minute, until Tracey came running down from the lab carrying a big blanket over his shoulder. "Hey! Professor Oak said it was ok to have this picnic. He'll be down in a minute with some of the food. I'm going to go back and get some lights so we can see once the sun is gone," Tracey yelled, waving the whole way down to their spot.

"I better go give Gramps a hand," Gary said, hoisting himself from his spot.

As Misty watched the boys trek back up the hill to the lab she couldn't help but wistfully think that this was a very blessed beginning indeed.


	2. The Tip of the Iceberg

Misty awoke the next morning to a faint thunking noise. What the heck was that annoying sound? She had finally had a restful night's sleep for once since the Ash incident and that stupid noise woke her up!

Oh… It was someone at her door. Now that she was awake, she noticed the knocking was rather timid. Probably Tracey, if she didn't miss her guess. Misty drug herself out from under the covers, realizing she wasn't exactly dressed for visitors, considering Professor Oak had insisted she borrow one of Gary's old shirts rather than sleep in her clothes from the previous day. Misty hadn't bothered with shorts, so she was simply in her underwear. But, it was just Tracey. And, let's face it; swimsuits were far more revealing than her makeshift pjs and she wore swimsuits on a daily basis.

"Good morning Misty!" Tracey's cheeks heated as he took in Misty's attire and mused, loose hair when she opened the door. "Sorry if I woke you, but breakfast is ready downstairs."

"Thanks Tracey. I'll be down in a minute," Misty said, as her stomach rumbled its approval.

Misty, in favor of getting to a fresh, free breakfast that she didn't have to make herself, quickly threw on her shorts and made her way from the guest room to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Misty. I hope you slept well," Professor Oak greeted from the kitchen's island, holding a steaming cup of dark coffee and a copy of the day's newspaper.

"I slept great Professor." Misty inhaled the smell of the American style breakfast mixed with the strong scent of coffee. Her stomach rumbled again. "Hey Professor, mind if I have a cup?" Misty asked, motioning to the half full coffeepot.

"No, Misty. Help yourself. I should warn you to leave some for Gary though. He's not exactly a morning person," Professor Oak replied with a chuckle taking a swig of his coffee.

"Noted," Misty said, pouring herself a generous cup of joe. She took a long sip of the warm coffee and sighed. Now, she might actually get through the day. And the bacon, sausage, and eggs on the plate the Professor placed in front of her could only make it better. It was nice to have someone else take care of her for a bit. She might have to stay over more often if a breakfast like this was always included.

And then the temporary peace was shattered.

Gary came storming into the kitchen in his worn plaid boxers, which had once been blue, but had long since faded to a light shade of purple, his hair a perfect mess. Misty couldn't help but notice he was certainly in shape, his chest sporting the shadows of a faint six pack and his arms were nicely toned. His eyes were still quite bleary and he looked like he would happily murder anyone who kept him from the steaming brown liquid innocently resting on the counter. He grabbed a large mug which he promptly emptied the contents of the pot into. Misty was rather impressed considering it didn't look like he could see very well due to how tight he was squinting his eyes. He downed half of the mug in one swig, promptly downing the second half moments later.

Definitely not a morning person.

Tracey entered the room shortly after, grabbing a plate for himself and sitting next to the Professor.

After starting the process of brewing more coffee, Gary plopped into the stool between Misty and Tracey's. Misty unconsciously scooted over on her stool to give herself a bit more distance from his sleepy wrath. "Morning," he mumbled under his breath while stabbing the unsuspecting egg onto his fork.

"Good morning," Misty hesitantly replied, flinching as he skewered the piece of sausage with his fork. She wasn't an animal activist by any means, but the way Gary was eating his food certainly made her see why people were so against eating meat. It was like watching a grotesque show on the Discovery Channel. Misty had to turn away from the scene before she lost her appetite completely.

No wonder Tracey had knocked the way he did. If she was greeted by this Gary every morning she'd knock quietly too.

After his second cup of coffee, Gary's icy persona seemed to melt. He began to smile and make jokes, not to mention that he began eating more civilly. Coffee really was an amazing liquid.

"So Misty, I'm not really sure what you had planned for today, but Tracey and I will be busy for most of the day, so we regrettably won't be very good company today," Professor Oak said over his newspaper.

"Oh, I don't mind Professor. I was thinking of heading back to Cerulean City pretty soon anyways. I don't want to be more of a burden on you than I already have," Misty said, sipping some of the orange juice she had gotten for herself after finishing her coffee.

"Nonsense! You're welcome here any time. You should know that. We all appreciate your company immensely," the Professor replied. "Gary! Why don't you show Misty a good time today? You mentioned that you've run into dead end in your research, so why don't you take the day off?"

"Sure. I guess I could take a day off. It's not like that work is going anywhere," Gary replied, smiling as he glanced at Misty. "What do you say Red? You up for a day with the fabulous Gary Oak?" Gary winked.

Misty smiled, unsure of how to answer. Sure, she and Gary were now on speaking terms, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to spend the whole day with him, alone. "I'm actually not sure. I've got a lot to do back at the gym," Misty pathetically said scrambling for a plausible excuse.

"I could help out then. I swear, you won't regret it," Gary said with yet another wink.

Misty laughed. "I guess one day couldn't hurt." Gary smiled brightly, taking his dishes to the sink.

"Alright then. Meet me by the front door in a few and we'll head out."

Misty quickly followed suit, heading to her guest room. "Have fun you two," Professor Oak called with a smirk from behind his newspaper. Tracey simply shook his head while biting into a strip of bacon.

When Misty arrived at the front door, she was greeted by Gary now fully dressed in a light blue polo and baggy jeans, his hair now perfectly spiked.

Misty couldn't help but be kind of embarrassed at her own attire. She was wearing a pair of well worn shorts, the ends fraying a bit, with a faded yellow spaghetti strap shirt. She was sporting her worn red converse from her travels with Ash and her hair was now in her trademark side ponytail. He at least looked put together. She looked like crap next to him. Normally this wouldn't bother her, but she had a feeling he had more planned than helping clean her closed gym for the day.

"Ready to go, Red?" Gary asked, spinning his car keys around his finger.

"Are you sure you want to go in that? I mean, I planned on us cleaning the pool today and forgive me for saying it, but your clothes don't exactly say 'I'm going to be doing manual labor.'"

"Don't worry about me," Gary said, brushing it off, heading out the front door. Misty had no choice but to follow. Gary set Misty's bike in the trunk of his red convertible and climbed in the driver's seat. Sometimes Misty forgot that he had this flashy car. Granted, it should be the thing she remember the best about Gary considering all she really knew about him that first year was that Ash hated Gary, that he had a group of cheerleaders who were obviously far too old to really be interested in him (Misty figured they were likely paid generously to follow him around), and that he had this flashy convertible.

"So, what's the plan for today, since we're clearly not doing what I had planned," Misty inquired with a bit of venom.

Gary chuckled. "And who said we weren't? I never suggested we weren't cleaning your gym. We're just doing more than that today. The way I see it, cleaning the gym will probably take about two to three hours. The drive to Cerulean takes about an hour and a half. That leaves us with plenty of time for fun."

The first part of the drive lasted in silence, which, honestly, was driving Gary crazy. Misty was too lost in her own thoughts, which had once again turned to Ash, to notice how much Gary wanted to talk about something, anything really. So, he finally broke the silence with perhaps the trickiest ice breaker this world has known.

"What are you thinking about?"

Misty snapped her head to Gary, rather shocked at the sudden break of silence. Then she noticed him glance at her, obviously trying to encourage her to share. She couldn't very well tell him, though. He'd been nice enough to let her avoid her touchy subject yesterday and if she could avoid bringing Ash up, she would. Whatever it took.

"Oh, just thinking about what needs to be done at the gym," Misty lied with a shrug.

Gary just sat there, thinking for a minute. Misty could sense that he didn't buy her lame cover-up for a second.

"Please don't lie to me. I understand if you don't want to tell me whatever it is that you're really thinking about, I mean, sure, I know you secretly fantasize about me lying naked on your bed," Misty giggled as Gary waggled his eyebrow, "but, please, don't lie to me," Gary said seriously. "I figure if you lie to someone, then you didn't figure they were worth the truth. I'd rather you tell me that you don't want to talk about something than be lied to. I don't care if we are just starting to be friends. Friends tell each other the truth, right?" Gary finished with a fire in his eyes.

Misty was amazed at the difference between him and Ash. The fire they both had was so similar, yet so different. Ash's fire only came up when talking about the next gym he had to beat, making his eyes look like melted chocolate. But, Gary's would spark over a multitude of subjects, his eyes looking like a lake on a hot summer's day.

But, Gary was right.

"Always. I'm sorry Gary. I didn't mean to offend you," Misty said, abashedly.

"No problem."

The rest of the drive was filled with chatter on a multitude of topics. Gary started by asking Misty's opinion about different battle techniques, which eventually became a conversation about who their favorite actors were. Gary inadvertently discovered Misty's distaste for carrots and peppers while Misty learned that Gary was claustrophobic. Soon, they arrived at the Cerulean City Gym, only for them to keep conversing while Misty unlocked the door and they made their way to the living room, located in the back of the gym. Misty hadn't had this free flowing of a conversation with anyone in months. It felt great to just talk and she found that Gary was surprisingly easy to talk to.

"So, there I was wading in the water under the pier, being as quiet as I could be. Ash was wandering back and forth yelling my name every once in awhile freaked and trying not to cry. So, I finally decided that I'd scare him, so I started talking in a creepy voice saying, 'Beware! Beware the wrath of the Tentacruel!' I almost didn't catch him in time, he was running so fast back to his house about to tell him mom that the Tentacruel had gotten me!" Gary finished his story with a hearty laugh.

"Oh my gosh! That is so awful!" Misty said through her giggles. It didn't even occur to her that she should be insulted for Ash's sake.

"Hey, nobody got hurt, and Ash laughed about it. Later," Gary said with a shrug. "So, you better go get changed."

"Changed?"

"Well yea, you think I'm going to take you around town dressed like that?" Gary asked with a laugh.

"Hey!" Misty yelled from the stairs, slightly offended.

"Whatever, just go get in some fresh clothes at least. I can smell you from over here!" Gary called from the living room couch.

When Misty returned to the living room she was dressed in a short pale yellow sundress with a pair of light blue leggings underneath, finished with a pair of sensible red flats. Part of her hair was down with the upper half in a ponytail and she was carrying her classic red drawstring bag. "Well," Misty sighed, "let's do this!"

"Took long enough!" Gary gladly called.

"Hey! That took me about an eighth of the time it would have taken my sisters!" Misty shot back as they walked to the car.

"Still doesn't mean it didn't take an eternity," Gary retorted.

Their light hearted banter and mockery continued until Gary parked the car in a rather full parking lot. They were parked in front of what appeared from the outside to be a humble arcade that had likely seen better days, but any true child or child at heart knew what dwelt inside: the best laser tag in the Kanto region. It was a two storied laser tag arena with several air hockey tables to play in between rounds of laser tag. Misty gave him a determined look.

"Better come up with a good nickname, Red. The second I figure it out, you're going down," Gary said with a smirk.

"In your dreams, pretty boy."

They walked to the front counter and Gary paid for a game each. They both whispered their nickname to the worker and stood with their tags filled with their information. As they filed into the dark room and donned their equipment both stole excited glances at each other.

/

"I can't believe you were Numbfingers!" Gary shouted as they walked to Gary's convertible each holding the card that told them their stats for the game. "I mean you hit me about 50 times!"

"You need to learn to look up more. I shot you several times while you were standing directly below me."

"Well, you know I like a girl on top," Gary said playfully.

Misty rolled her eyes and gave Gary a playful punch in the arm. "You did pretty well though. I mean it's not like you were pathetic in the rankings," Misty said, trying to offer a bit of encouragement.

"Misty, you wiped my score off the board!"

"No I didn't. You said you got in the top 5. Considering we were playing with 40 people, that's really good."

"Yea, but your score is about 200 successful shots higher than mine! Besides, I only hit you… twice? Really? How did I only hit you twice?"

"What was your nickname?" Misty asked, looking at her own score sheet.

"LoneWolf."

"Really? Dang. I shot you a lot. Wow…"

"Tch. Whatever."

"What's the matter? Is mister big bag lone wolf mad that he got beaten to a pulp by a girl?" Misty asked, elbowing him in the side.

"Pfft. As if," Gary said, crumpling the offensive paper and tossing it into a nearby trash can. "So you're good at laser tag. Big deal."

"So, where to now?" Misty asked as she buckled up.

"I thought we'd grab a bite to eat and go hang at the cape for a while."

"Awesome! What kind of food are you in the mood for?" Misty asked, ready to direct Gary to the nearest appropriate restaurant.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I've got everything under control," Gary said, as he merged onto the highway, on his way to the cape.

"Didn't you say we were getting food?" Misty said rather confused.

"I assure you that you won't starve today," Gary simply said.

Misty chose silence as the best way to express her displeasure. Gary, noting the angry manner in which she was staring out at the passing scenery simply said, "Just trust me Red."

As they pulled into a beachside parking lot, it was clear that Misty's mood had not gotten any better. If anything, it had only gotten worse. She looked like she was ready to pummel Gary at any second, which she truly was. The car ride had been silent, leaving time for Misty's anger towards Gary to marinate.

Misty was caught off guard a bit when Gary came to her side to open the door. Like that was going to lessen her anger? Dream on! She grudgingly thanked him for his chivalrous act, now standing by her door with her arms crossed angrily, mainly to keep them from doing anything she might later regret.

Gary went to the trunk and removed a red igloo cooler, clearly full. Realization dawned upon Misty and she now felt rather guilty for all of the blaming she had done subconsciously in the car. "Wanna grab the blanket Red?" Gary asked after removing the cooler.

"So when did you make this?" Misty asked as they trudged through the sand.

"While you were getting ready. I told you that you take forever. I made all of this, put it in my car, and still had time to wait," Gary said with a laugh as he set the cooler down.

Misty spread the blanket out on the warm sand, took off her flats and shot over to the cooler.

"It's really not much," Gary said scratching the back of his head as Misty opened the igloo, glad for the nourishment that was held within its chilled depths.

"I honestly could care less!" Misty said scrounging through the ice at the bottom to find a bottle of water. "Kicking your ass took a lot out of me and I'm hungry!"

Gary threw her an insulted look. "Well, hand me a sandwich while you're mining over there."

Misty tossed him a rather delicious looking ham and cheese sub sandwich. She decided to toss him the bag of barbeque potato chips and his own water, just for good measure. Gary was right, it really wasn't much, but it hit the spot.

Misty found herself thankful that she'd allowed Gary to have his way with the day's happenings. She was having more fun today than she'd had in a long time. Once they finished eating, they chatted about nonsense, arguing over little things and telling stories from their pasts. It was a very peaceful and relaxing time.

"Oh my gosh!" a voice rang out from a teenage girl near the shore. "Is that Gary Oak?"

And there went that peace. Oh well. Misty supposed it was to be expected. Going to a very public place with the famous Gary Oak was bound to draw attention. Not to mention that the Cape was known for being a romantic hot spot and that the two were here alone. It was bound to cause a ruckus, though Misty knew that there was simply friendship between the two for the moment. Not that she minded the girls looking on a bit enviously… Let them think what they want.

"Hi girls!" Gary called giving out his charming debonair smile that practically reduced the girls to puddles. Misty couldn't help but compare those massive hearts in their eyes to the ones that got Brock a well deserved pulling of the ear. Somehow, she was more frightened than she had been just seconds earlier. It was like a mob of female Brocks!

Turns out news travels fast on the Cape, at least during the middle of the day. Soon, what had been a peaceful lunch on the beach had turned into a photo opt complete with a few autographs, by both Misty and Gary. Misty's hasty return had been a big deal for the celebrity gossip chain, but her recluse nature of late hadn't allowed for much dirt, so needless to say the beach goers were trying to getting their fill today.

The two finally managed to escape the mob, uh, adoring fans that is, back to Gary's convertible after a fair amount of scrambling and hasty excuses. Sure, they may be celebrities, but there's a point when even celebrities want some personal time and this was one of those moments. Especially for Misty. Misty, unlike her sisters and Ash, wasn't completely used to basking in the limelight. She was just now realizing that her role as gym leader equated her with the status of her sisters, except in the Pokémon training world rather than show business.

"Well, that was an adventure," Gary said with a laugh once they were safely in the car.

"To say the least," Misty said a bit winded.

"So, what do you say we rent a movie then head back to the gym and get down to work?"

"Uh… Sure," Misty replied uncertainly. Misty couldn't really figure out why a movie was in the equation at all. Sure, it sounded like fun, but it also sounded like something you would do for a date. Misty wasn't entirely sure if she was comfortable the ambiguity of the situation she was quickly finding herself in.

/

"Here!" Gary found his hands occupied by a bucket full of sudsy water and a sponge "You'll be giving the Pokémon baths. Oh, I should warn you, don't let Psyduck near any of the pools," Misty said, marching off towards the room where the water show gear was held.

"Why not?" Gary asked, trailing behind her.

Misty blushed out of shame for her Pokémon. "Well… You see, Psyduck can't really swim."

"Wait… a water Pokémon that can't swim?" Gary stopped in his tracks at the doorway. And then he burst out laughing, dropping his cargo to the ground.

BAM!

Gary now lay on the ground twitching in pain. Misty held her mallet high, ready for another swing should she find it necessary. "No one makes fun of Psyduck except for me!" she yelled fiercely.

"Gotcha Red," Gary said starting to get up.

BAM!

"Ouch! What was that for?" Gary said tenderly holding his head, on the ground once again.

"My name is Misty, not Red! I suggest you use my real name for once."

"I'll work on that," Gary said, hesitantly getting up again. "What are you going to be doing?"

"I'm going to clean the algae in the pools," Misty said holding flippers and a breathing device.

"Oh," Gary finished lamely.

About an hour later, Gary had finished bathing all the gym's Pokémon and was looking for Misty. Just under the surface Misty was hard at work removing the last bit of algae from the pool walls. After scraping a particularly stubborn bit of algae, Misty resurfaced.

"Hey Gary," Misty said, flipping her side ponytail out of her eyes.

"Need a hand?"Gary asked.

"Actually," Misty said hoisting herself out of the pool, her red bikini clinging to her wet body, "I just finished. I just need to get rid of the algae." Misty motioned to a wet green pile of the fungi on the pool's edge. "I see you had fun with the Pokémon," Misty said with a giggle taking in Gary's wet Growlithe look.

"Yea," Gary laughed, looking at his soaked shirt that now clung to his torso. "I guess they thought I needed a bath too."

"I'm sure it's their way of saying, 'Hi.,'" Misty said, placing the algae in a plastic bag.

"Somehow, I don't think a water gun attack should be synonymous with 'hello.'"

"Well… how's this for 'hello'?" Misty asked, throwing a handful of algae into Gary's face. As the algae slid off of his face, Gary's disgust was very apparent.

"Somehow," Gary said spitting out a bit of algae that had found its way into his mouth, "I think I preferred the water gun." Gary then presumed to wipe the algae off of his face. Misty, now trying to make amends for her nasty joke, was picking off pieces that had splattered into his hair. Seeing, how Misty was occupied, he took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her and jump into the pool.

As Misty resurfaced, sputtering and coughing, she couldn't help but admit that she deserved her punishment. Gary resurfaced with a laugh and flicked his hair back from his eyes. "So, what do you say we pop in that movie?" Gary asked ready to dry off and relax for the rest of the day.

"Alright," Misty said before clambering out of the pool. She kindly tossed Gary a towel while on her way to change into some more comfortable clothes. When Misty reappeared in the living room she was dressed in a yellow tank top and red running shorts. Gary had already dried off and changed into a baggy blue shirt and gray sweats and was making a bag of popcorn in the kitchen.

"So, you finally decided to join me?" Gary asked shaking the bag of finished popcorn.

Misty snatched the bag from his hands, opened it and began snacking away. "Whatever, Casanova. Let's just watch the movie."

Gary swiftly grabbed Misty by her arms, turned her around and pinned her against the fridge. With his blue eyes smoldering into hers he huskily said, "My name is Gary. If I have to call you by your name I expect the same treatment in return."

Misty was luckily able to squeak out a simple, "OK." As Gary released her, nonchalantly grabbed the bag of popcorn and made his way into the living room, Misty was still recovering from her shock. Gary had never acted like that towards her before. Misty took a deep breath to compose herself and entered the living room. Gary had just finished putting in the DVD and was now lounging on the worn teal couch. Misty hesitantly entered the living room and sat down on the opposite end off the couch.

As Pan's Labyrinth .opened showing Ofelia bleeding on the ground, both were instantly captivated. As the movie progressed, both Gary and Misty found themselves subtly getting closer together. By the time Ofelia was being chased by the Pale Man, Misty found herself grasping to Gary, who quickly put his arm over her shoulders in response. The moment Ofelia was safe inside the house again, Misty realized what she had done and hastily released her hold on Gary. Yet, Gary's arm stayed put.

As the movie was reaching its climax, Misty found herself letting go and simply enjoyed the movie and the feel of Gary's arm around her, which he would every now and then squeeze her for reassurance when Misty would jump. When the credits finally rolled, Misty and Gary sat, both still absorbing the film. Misty finally released herself from Gary's protective hold to take the movie out of the player, though she found that she instantly missed his warmth.

"Wow," Gary said simply.

"I know. Such a good movie. The ending was so bittersweet," Misty said, placing the DVD in its case with a sigh.

"It leads to the question of whether the Underground existed in the movie or not, though," Gary said, leaning back into the couch.

"How so?" Misty asked, leaning against the coffee table.

"Well, you take for granted that the Underground exists at the beginning, but when the Captain happens upon Ofelia and the Faun talking, Ofelia is just talking to thin air. That scene alone brings up a million questions as to whether Ofelia's vision was truth or her own delusion that helped her cope with the shitty turn her life had taken."

"But, that same scene could be interpreted differently. In folklore, faeries, meaning all magical creatures, can't be seen by those without the sight. If Ofelia was the long lost princess, it would make sense that she had the sight and was able to see them. That would explain why the Captain was unable to see the Faun or the fairy, but still keep it within the realm of believability the story sets up."

Gary laughed, "Well, that's your opinion. I personally liked the ambiguous question of reality. It made it more interesting, for me at least, but that could just be my inner professor talking."

"Probably," Misty replied with a grin.

"So… We've still got a bit of daylight left to burn. What should be do now?" Gary asked.

Misty thought for a few moments when it hit her. "I have an idea," she said with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

A few minutes later the halls of the gym were echoing with laughter. Misty asked Dewgong to construct a giant ice slide, with many twists and turns by the pool's edge. One was soon formed next to it so they could race. It was either that or have a race riding their water Pokémon around the halls of the gym using ice and water commands to get the advantage. Misty figured this would be the easier option to clean up.

The two had been enjoying themselves for about an hour and were now trying to find ways to outdo each other on the slide, sometimes using their Pokémon's attacks for flair or effect.

Gary was poised at the top of the slide, anxiously waiting for Misty to join him on the other slide. Yet, just as Misty was about to start climbing the rungs, she heard the videophone ring in the gym's foyer.

"I'll be right back Gary!" Misty yelled, now walking quickly towards the phone.

"Cerulean City Gym. This is Misty speaking."

"Hey Mist!" Ash called as his picture appeared on the screen. "A bit late for a swim session isn't it?" he asked noting her wet hair and swimsuit.

"Not really. I just felt like messing around for a bit, that's all," Misty considered telling Ash about Gary, but decided against it. What he wouldn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"So, Mist, I just caught a Torkoal the other day! You should see some of the Pokémon in this region! They're so different. We're in Mauville City right now. We just went to a carnival and of course Team Rocket ruined the fun, but don't worry everything worked out! May is excited for the upcoming contest in the next town." Misty's genuine smile soon became false as the brunette's name was mentioned. "She's really confident that she's going to win this one. I'm sure she'll do just fine, but I prefer a battle to a wimpy contest any day!"

"Hey Misty!"Brock called from the background. Ash stepped aside to let the two talk for a moment, walking nearby, anxious for Brock to be done. "So, you're looking well. Better than I've seen you in quite awhile, actually."

"I do feel really good Brock. I finally feel almost normal again," Misty said with a genuine smile. "Granted, I'm not perfect, but the past few days have definitely been a turn for the better."

"I'm really glad to hear that Misty. Say, I heard Duplica is supposed to be around Cerulean. Maybe you two should hang out!"

"If that's true, I may have to pay her a visit," Misty said recalling the last time she'd seen the blue haired girl.

When she looked back to the screen, she noticed Brock was no longer there. Her curiosity was instantly abated when she heard him professing his undying love to Nurse Joy in the background. Misty face palmed.

Ash quickly reclaimed the vacant seat. "So Mist, how have things been at the gym?"

"Oh they've been alright. Just a bunch of rookie trainers. The usual."

"Yea. Sounds kind of boring. So, when are your sis-" Ash was suddenly cut off by the videophone being turned off.

Misty's faced the disturbance, her face ablaze. "What was that for Oak?"

"Oh don't worry about it. I'm sure he'll call back tomorrow," Gary said, glancing at the clock.

/

"Misty? Misty?" Ash looked befuddled at the videophone in the PokéCenter. He was just about to dial her number again when Nurse Joy walked over.

"I'm sorry Mister Ketchum, but you'll have to call them tomorrow. The lobby is closed for the evening. You'll have to go to your room for the night. I apologize again for the inconvenience."

Ash sighed and looked wistfully at the videophone, then resigned himself to his room for the night.

/

Back in Cerulean City, Misty was now rather depressed again. Gary wasn't sure what had come over her. One minute she'd been happy and then once she'd berated him for ending her call with Ash, it seemed like all the life had been drained from her. She kindly declined his offer of hanging out on the slides again. She simply stumbled her way up the stairs to her room at the end of the hall in a daze. Gary was both concerned and curious about what had caused this sudden change in demeanor. He tentatively knocked on her door.

"Misty? Are you alright?" Gary called through the door.

"Yes. I'm just tired. I'm going to just go to bed," Misty said, covering a sniffle.

Misty grabbed her covers and curled up in the fetal position on her bed, not bothering to change from her wet swimsuit. She choked down several sobs, suppressed a shudder from the cold, and finally, exhausted, she fell into a dreamless sleep.


	3. What You Will

It was the worst kind of dreamless sleep, the kind where you fall asleep and wake up the next morning, wondering if you even slept. Misty rolled over and glared at the sunshine peeking through her blinds. It should be a dreary day full of storm clouds and thunder. She should not be able to hear Pidgeys outside. Especially not when she slept so poorly. She wanted to sick Gyarados on the little beasts, but that would require getting up, which Misty really wasn't sure she had the strength to do. She was drained, emotionally and physically. Sure, she'd just woken up, but she certainly didn't feel rested and she could still see his face in her mind.

She recalled his warm eyes, his ebony hair, and his cocky smile. She thought about him smiling that adorable smile at May. A stab of pain shot through her torso. It felt like a black hole was in her stomach, eating her from the inside. This pain was something Misty was regrettably getting used to. It didn't come all the time, but the mere thought of the betrayal and sheer pain she felt could conjure it up in a second. Misty wasn't sure how much longer she could stand this pain. She wanted to grasp something to her chest, maybe to clog this hole or perhaps to just feel normal again. She missed Togepi, desperately. Her baby could always make her happy and knew just how to comfort her when she was having a bad day. But, her baby was so far away…

Misty finally surrendered and let out a gut wrenching sob that racked her thin frame.

She missed her sisters. Sure, she'd never admit it out loud, but she loved them dearly, especially Daisy. Daisy was really good at knowing what was wrong with her and had taken care of her on many a sick day. She just wanted Daisy to take her head into her lap, run her fingers through her hair, and tell her everything was going to be ok.

The tears were flowing freely now. Misty managed to sit up, but had wrapped her arms around her torso. How did people live like this? It was miserable!

Misty forced herself to change into her red shorts from the previous night, a yellow T-shirt several sizes too big and her Maril slippers. From there she drug herself to her door, still sniffling. She needed coffee or food in her system, though, truth be told, she couldn't tell if she was hungry or about to be sick. The pain was making it hard to differentiate between the two sensations.

She pulled the door towards her and took a few slow steps forward. Her slipper touched something soft followed by a low, muffled groan. Misty glanced down to see Gary lying on his stomach, a throw blanket wrapped haphazardly around his legs and his face smothered on a decorative pillow from the couch.

As sweet as it was for him to have slept on the comfortable floor outside her room rather than on the couch, Misty couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment. She let out a sniffle and decided to let the sleeping beast lie for a while. She wasn't in the mood to deal with Gary's morning grouchiness. She stepped over him and staggered down the hallway and stairs. She began brewing a pot of coffee and put two slices of bread into the toaster. Misty waited, sitting on a chair by the table, her legs pulled to her chest, sniffling occasionally. Her mind was vacant. She was like a zombie, sitting without any real purpose or plan.

The pop of the toaster caused her to jump, but she quickly realized what had happened. She buttered her toast and poured a small cup of coffee. She sat at the table, nibbling at her toast. Misty only managed to make it through a slice and a half before she stopped, swearing she would be ill if she took another bite.

Satisfied with her attempt at eating, she was rising from her chair about to make her way back to her room, when Gary stumbled into the kitchen. He looked different this morning than he had the day prior. His eyes weren't quite as bleary and he looked… not happier, but less likely to murder someone. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down in the chair next to the one Misty had just occupied. He motioned for her to sit back down, before chugging the brown liquid.

Misty complied, not willing to incite his wrath when she was already in a funk. Her will to fight this overwhelming wave of sadness and betrayal had disappeared.

"So," Gary finally said after he set the cup down on the table, "you mind explaining to me what happened last night?"

Misty shook her head, avoiding eye contact, nervously fidgeting with her own coffee cup.

Gary sighed. "What is up with you?" Gary asked, leaning on the table. "One second you're happy and threatening me as usual and the next you're practically a wraith. What am I missing?"

Gary looked to Misty trying to search her eyes as though they might hold the answers he needed, but her eyes remained glued to the tiled floor.

"I'm not going to try and lie to you. So just know, that it has nothing to do with you, it's not your fault, it's my own," Misty managed to say.

"Misty, when I watched you go from smiling to this in a split second, I became involved. I'm going to help you through whatever this is. I promise we'll beat this. Together." Gary said lifting up her chin and sincerely staring into her eyes.

Misty let out a strangled sob and looked to the floor. It was like a huge weight was being lifted from her shoulders. Despite the fact that there was only so much Gary could do whether she told him about Ash or not, just knowing that she had someone to lean on felt like a breath of fresh air.

Gary took her into his arms as she sobbed into his bare shoulder. After a few minutes she whispered her thanks, finally regaining her composure. Gary wiped a few remaining tears from her cheek with his thumb. "What would help you get your mind off of this?" Gary asked.

Misty thought for a few moments, but the ring of the videophone interrupted her. "I'll get it Misty," Gary said.

"No," Misty said rising. "I'll get it."

"Are you sure? I really don't mind," Gary said looking her in the eyes.

"Yea. I've got it." Misty made her way to the videophone, praying her eyes weren't too puffy, blowing her nose a moment before picking up the receiver.

"Cerulean City Gym. Misty speaking."

"Misty! What happened last night? One- What's wrong?" Ash asked noticing Misty's state.

"Nothing Ash. I'm fine, really. Just a little under the weather is all," she said throwing him a genuine smile. Even if he hurt her to her very core, just seeing his face full of concern for her wellbeing brightened her spirit, if only slightly.

"Alright. So, what happened last night? You just suddenly cut out," Ash said, now returning to the topic that had kept him up half the night.

"Oh nothing too bad. Just a minor disturbance is all, nothing to worry about," Misty said, still avoiding the subject of Gary, who was now fully dressed and watching her from the doorway, which lucky for Misty was just out of the camera's sightline.

"Oh. Well, alright then. We're on our way to Verantuff City today, so I probably won't be able to talk to you for a while."

"Alright Ash," Misty replied with a sad smile. "I'll talk to you soon then."

"Yea. I miss you Mist," Ash said before handing the phone to an anxious looking Brock.

"Misty, are you alright? You look awful. Did you have a bad night?" Brock asked looking at her sincerely.

Misty sighed. "I'm fine Brock. I don't want you to worry about me though. You've got your hands full with that troop," Misty said motioning to May and Max having a minor fight in the background.

"Misty, you know you're like a sister to me. You looked so great last night. Did something happen when Ash got back on or something?"

"No. I just…" Misty sniffled a little and blinked back tears, "It was like putting salt on an open wound is all."

Brock looked at her seriously. "I see. Well, like I said last night, Duplica is supposed to be in town. I think it might be a good idea if you two did something together. It might help you take your mind off of things," Brock said meaningfully.

"I'll look into it Brock. Thanks. You're always looking out for me. See you soon. Take care of them," Misty said, both knowing "them" meant Ash.

"I will and take care of yourself. Bye Misty," Brock said before they disconnected the call.

"You alright Red?" Gary asked, leaning against the doorway, arms crossed.

Misty sniffled a little. "Yea. But I think I know what I'd like to do today. My friend Duplica is supposed to be in town. I'd like to see her. Would you mind terribly looking into that while I make myself a bit more presentable?"

"Sure thing."

/

"Misty!" Duplica called across the plaza in Cerulean City's lush park.

"Oh my gosh! Duplica! How are you?" Misty asked as she embraced her friend in front of the fountain. Misty was wearing a red and white striped tank top with a pair of jean shorts and a pair of yellow flip flops, her hair in her classic side ponytail. Duplica was sporting an orange tank top, a pair of capris and orange tennis shoes.

"Oh I've been just fine! And clearly you have been too. I mean, it's not every day a girl gets a call of from the Gary Oak to come see an old friend. So, how long have things been going on there?" Duplica gushed.

"We're just friends!" Misty defended, throwing her hands up.

"Like I haven't heard that one before? Speaking of which, whatever happened between you and Ash?"

Misty groaned, not wanting to bring him up just yet. "Uh… Can we talk about something else, please?"

Duplica quirked her eyebrow, but complied. "Alight, back to Gary Oak then. What's going on there?"

"I told you, we're just friends. That's it."

"Uh huh… So even if you guys truly are 'just friends,' you can't tell me that you don't want there to be something more," Duplica said with a gleam in her eye.

Misty couldn't help the slight blush that was slowly creeping its way across her cheeks. "I-I just don't think I'm ready for that right now. The Ash issue, which I will fill you in on, eventually, is making it kind of difficult for me to really tell what I want right now. I'm not saying he's not gorgeous because he certainly is. It's just that I'm not sure where my feelings lie for him just yet."

"I see. So, where is he anyway?" Duplica asked, glancing around the park in search of the brunette.

"He said he had some business to deal with or something."

"Or he was afraid of getting in the way of our girl time," Duplica said with a chuckle.

"Perhaps," Misty said with a laugh.

"So, how have things been in your life? Still performing?" Misty asked eager to hear about her friend's life.

"Thing have been great! Little Dit and I have been going around Kanto with our show. It's been going really well and people seem to be really enjoying it. We're hoping to set up a permanent location pretty soon. We'll still probably do tours, but it'll be a bit more controlled than being on the road all the time like we currently are. Speaking of which, I'll have to get you some tickets for my show next weekend!" Duplica said, her eyes lighting up.

"That'd be so much fun!"

"So, do you want me to hold a ticket for Gary too?"

"Duplica!" Misty shouted in embarrassment.

"What? It's not a ridiculous question. I mean it doesn't have to be a date if you guys are 'just friends,' right?" Duplica said with a shrug.

"We'll see, alright."

"Fine, then let's do some shopping!" Duplica said motioning to the strip mall they were now facing.

"Sure. I could use some new clothes."

"Yea. We have to break you out of your color scheme."

"Color scheme?"

"Yea! You wear the same three colors all the time! Not that there's anything wrong with those colors, but trust me, a little variation never hurt, besides it'll make Gary pay attention." Misty shot her a warning look. "A subtle change can drive a guy bonkers trying to figure out what's different, like parting your hair a different direction. It's the same theory, just using colors."

"This coming from the girl who makes a living dressing up as other people?" Misty said disbelieving.

"That means I understand the importance of details." Misty simply looked at Duplica with a questioning look. "Just trust me!" Duplica said, pushing Misty into a trendy shop.

/

"Are you ready?" Duplica called outside of Misty's dressing room sporting a black flowing one shoulder top and a pair of faded skinny jeans.

"Well don't you look like a knock out!" Duplica said as Misty shuffled out of the dressing room. Misty was wearing a jade green portrait top paired with a white eyelet tiered skirt.

"Me? You look hot!"

"No, I look like I'm going out for a night on the town. You, on the other hand look classy and chic ready for practically anything short of a walk down the red carpet!" gushed Duplica.

"I don't look that good."

"Misty, look at your legs! They are easily one of your best features and that skirt definitely shows them off! Put on a pair of low wedges and the guys won't be able to stop staring!"

Misty looked at herself in the mirror. Sure, the outfit was flattering, but it seemed to her like she was trying to be one of her sisters. It was breaking her tomboy nature to be in something so blatantly girly. And yet… Duplica did have a point. The skirt really did show off her legs. Maybe if she let her hair down it would look more natural on her…

"Ok, stop staring. I'll decide for you. You're getting the outfit and that's that!" Duplica said, throwing her arm around Misty. "Now go forth and change! I command it of thee!"

Misty could scarcely register that she was being pushed back into the changing room. She sighed and changed into the next awaiting outfit.

Misty beat Duplica out of the dressing room this time, sporting a loose hot pink tank top over some straight jeans. Duplica strutted out of the dressing room in a red v-neck sundress with flowers embroidered in black on the skirt section.

"I love this dress!" Duplica gushed.

"That dress really is awesome. But this shirt? Really Duplica? I'm a red head! I can't wear pink, especially not this shade!" Misty said, going off, pinching the offensive article away from her skin.

"Alright! It was just an experiment. I know pink doesn't work, but I had to test your bounds," Duplica said throwing her hands up. "But the jeans are awesome and you could easily wear them when it gets colder out."

"I know. I generally don't like jeans but these are really comfortable."

Both changed and came out of their rooms again.

"Ew. That's all I have to say for this one." Duplica said examining herself in the mirror. It was a trench coat style dress in beige. She kept circling around trying to find a descent aspect of the dress, but only finding that she liked the dress even less.

"I agree. That really doesn't flatter you at all."

"On the other hand, your top is super cute," Duplica said admiring the flattering eggplant colored knit tube top. Misty wore it on top of her own shorts.

"I agree. I really love this shirt!" Misty agreed.

The girls finished trying on outfits and then perused the accessories in the store, picked out a few favorites, and checked out their purchases. From there, the two decided to have a movie marathon night at the gym.

They were halfway through watching Peter Pan when the videophone rang. Now, since Duplica was visiting and therefore had a massive amount of clothing at her disposal, the two had decided to dress up as their favorite Disney characters. Misty was wearing a red wig and her mermaid outfit curled up under a blanket on the couch while Duplica was reclining on some pillows on the floor dressed as Esmeralda. Duplica, being more appropriately dressed for movement, answered the videophone.

"Cerulean City Gym, Duplica speaking."

"Like who you are you?" Lily asked twirling her pink locks around her finger in confusion.

"I'm Duplica, Misty's friend," she said, removing her wig. "Misty is in the living room. I'll go get her."

"Misty!"

"Yea?"

"Your sister is on the phone."

"Oh… Um…" Misty looked down at her predicament. "Tell her I'll be there in a minute."

Duplica relayed the message then slung her arm around a struggling Misty to help her get to the videophone faster.

"Oh my God! Misty! Like what happened?" Lily screeched into the videophone seeing her sister being aided into view.

"Lily!" Misty laughed, "Calm down. I'm fine. I'm just in the mermaid outfit, so I can't really walk right now."

"Oh. I thought it was like something serious. Well, in that case, our world tour is done, so Daisy is like coming back this weekend, but Vi and I are going to be busy for a few weeks."

"Awesome!" Misty said, her face lighting up. Her sisters coming home would mean she could go back with Ash permanently and be able to teach that little succubus a lesson about stepping in on her territory.

"But, baby sister, we totally think you should keep up being the gym leader. You know we'd just give away badges. I mean it is way too much work to battle and keep the gym up along with our careers. It's so not what we want to do with our lives, but it's like perfect for you!" Violet said, grabbing the phone from her sister.

"I want to be the greatest water trainer of all time, not stuck being a gym leader!" Misty shouted.

"But, that is exactly why you are like more qualified than we are. You train and all that stuff. We want to model, act, and sing," Violet added.

"Misty, being a gym leader is a great opportunity to become a stronger trainer. You get to have the promise of battles like all the time so you can get better. I mean, think of it this way, if you were like traveling you could go weeks between battles. This way, you like get to battle several times a week," Daisy said, appearing on the screen to add a bit of reason into the argument.

"But…"

Misty knew she was fighting a losing battle. She respected the title of the Cerulean City Gym and what it stood for, especially while her parents had been alive. She didn't want to disgrace its name and their memory by letting her sisters give away badges again. Misty was amazed the Pokémon League hadn't taken the gym away from them for that stunt when she thought about it. There was no real way around it. She was stuck here. Forever.

"Fine," Misty said, visibly deflating.

"Yay! So we'll like see you in a few weeks Misty!" Lily called into the receiver before promptly turning it off.

Misty was holding back angry tears. Her sisters were coming back but she was still trapped here. It was supposed to be a temporary deal, not permanent! She slammed the phone on the receiver a bit harder than she meant to. It just wasn't fair! They could do whatever they wanted, but she was stuck doing the grunt work. Misty felt Duplica place a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. Misty loosened her death grip on the counter and conceded that no matter how much she rebelled against this situation and hated her sisters for doing this to her, she would make the best of it. She would use this opportunity to grow and perhaps someday she'd be such a good trainer that Ash would have to realize she was better than May.

Misty turned to Duplica with a melancholy smile and said, "Why don't we make embarrassing videos of ourselves singing along Disney songs?"

"Sounds perfect," Duplica replied, noticing the bit of fire in Misty's eyes. She may be down, but she certainly wasn't out.


	4. The Sands of Time

The following week was a blur for Misty. It was a typical week full of battling rookies, but now Gary and Duplica were worked into her schedule. Gary insisted coming over twice that week. During that time together, the two would train and then relax the rest of the night playing video games. Although Gary hated to admit it, Misty could kick his ass at Guitar Hero.

He happened to stay the night both times due to the long drive back to Pallet Town, though he awoke early those mornings to the sound of a sturdy and loud alarm clock and a steaming pot of coffee awaiting him in the kitchen. Hearing about Duplica's offer for the show, he declined saying he had some business he had to deal with over the weekend.

Duplica was over on the other days that week. Duplica would help Misty with odds and ends around the gym and then they would simply talk about whatever was on their minds. Misty, true to her word, eventually told Duplica about the issue between her and Ash, from the whole "Ash is the densest person alive" part to being replaced by May. Misty struggled with the confession at first, but eventually she found that it was comforting to confide in someone else. Duplica sympathized and offered whole hearted support, not to mention backup should an opportunity for a showdown ever commence. To which, Misty simply smiled and said she would keep the offer in mind.

Daisy arrived at the gym that Friday with a mountain of suitcases, which Misty had to drag upstairs to Daisy's room by herself, grumbling the whole way. Just because Daisy considered her feelings the most out of the sisters didn't mean she still wasn't dense sometimes. The two bonded that evening at Duplica's show. Once back at home Daisy showed Misty pictures they had taken on their trip and gave Misty a few baubles that she had bought for her during the trip. Misty's favorite trinket was a necklace with a delicate blue glass pendant in the shape of the cascade badge dangling from a pearl. Daisy said she'd asked to have it made by some glass makers while they were in France.

Misty was touched that her sister had gone so far out of her way to get her something so beautiful. Not only was it beautiful, but it showed that Daisy had considered Misty's tastes when getting it.

Duplica came over that Sunday evening to say goodbye to Misty. She had to leave for Saffron City in the morning for her show. The two promised to stay in contact. Duplica swore that she would hunt Misty down if she found out that something happened between her and Gary, or Ash as unlikely as that was, and she was not informed at the earliest possible moment. To which Misty swore to her that there would never be a need for such action. The two parted ways, looking forward to the next time they would see each other again.

The next day, Misty called up the Oak lab, seeing if she could come over for the afternoon. "Oh hello Misty! How nice to see you," Professor Oak said, holding a worn red notebook in his hand.

"Hi Professor. Is Gary free?"

"Oh Misty, I'm sorry he's not. He's actually in Viridian City for a few days. You could drop by and see him though. I'm sure he'd like to see you," Oak said with a smile.

"Where's he at in Viridian?" Misty asked, a bit puzzled as to why he was even in Viridian City at all.

"At the gym, of course. Where else would he be?"

"The gym?" Misty was very confused. "Well thank you Professor. I'll talk to you again soon."

"Not a problem, Misty. Take care!" The professor replied before disconnecting the call.

Misty was now incredibly curious. She decided she'd try to call the Viridian City Gym. As far as she knew, no one had taken over the charge since Giovanni had disappeared, so it seemed like a strange place for Gary to be, let alone the only place in Viridian that the professor thought he was likely to go in that town.

She flipped through the Kanto phonebook and dialed the number.

"Viridian City Gym. How may I help you?" Gary asked his face appearing on the screen. His eyes lit up as he realized who had called him. "Oh! Hey Misty! How was your weekend?"

"It was good. Daisy got home a few days ago and came with me to Duplica's show."

"That's good, I'm glad you found someone to go with you. I'm sorry I couldn't come along."

"Yea. I was too. So, what are you doing at the Viridian City gym?" Misty asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"I'm fixing up the gym. I'm the official gym leader here now. I applied for the job a few months ago and started about a month ago. It's not open yet, since I'm still working on fixing the place up. It certainly keeps me from getting too bored. I mean, I love research, but battling is something I just can't give up. I couldn't do that to my Pokémon either. I raised them to battle. They have too much spirit to just be sitting idle on the ranch."

Misty nodded in understanding. He really was different from Ash. The way they cared for their Pokémon were completely different. If Ash, Arceus forbid, ever gave up battling, Misty couldn't help but think that his Pokémon would grow old on the ranch, rarely seeing their master, perhaps never seeing him if he chose to settle outside of Kanto, and certainly never battling. She shook her head to clear the thought from her mind.

"So, do you need a hand over there?" Misty asked.

"Actually, I'm about done for the night and have some plans already. But, maybe later in the week would work."

"Sure. Just let me know when you're free. Just out of curiosity, what are you up to tonight?" Plans could mean anything, from a night with his sister, May, to a date. Misty wasn't sure why that thought unsettled her, but she chose not to dwell on that. But to top it off, she wasn't quite sure what she was going to do now. The gym was taken care of for the night and now she had nothing to do. No Duplica and now no Gary. And Daisy was treating herself to a mini home spa treatment, which would easily take the rest of the night. Misty found herself afraid of what she might do left to her own devices.

"I have a date tonight," Gary said, absentmindedly. He was glancing around behind him, apparently trying to find something. "I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Yea. Ok. Have fun. Good night," Misty said, trying to keep the disappointment and hurt out of her voice. She put on a fake smile, ready to crawl into a hole at her own embarrassment. For some reason, knowing he was going out with someone hurt. She hadn't really expected that.

"See you, Red," Gary responded before disconnecting the call.

Misty heaved a sigh. Maybe it was for the best. She needed a chance to work things out by herself for once. She walked towards the front desk, trying to figure out a way to entertain herself for the evening that didn't involve her good -friends Ben and Jerry. Her eyes happened to catch the sight of the day's mail sitting on the edge of the front desk. Might as well. Misty picked the mail up with a sigh and began leafing through the pile. Bill. The latest Cosmo for her sisters. Monthly gym leader news letter. A notice. Trainers Today magazine. Bill. Wait… Notice?

Misty pulled the light pink notice from the pile. It was an official notice from the Pokémon League. She carefully opened the envelope and removed the letter. The embossed gold insignia of the Pokémon League shone in the upper left hand corner, proving it to be an official document. The note read as follows:

Dear Misty Waterflower,

We are excited to inform you that on the 14th of June will be the start a multi-region tournament at the Indigo Plateau. This tournament will consist of the most talented trainers in the world, from the Elite Four and Gym Leaders of the world to noteworthy trainers. This tournament will challenge combatants in new ways, build new friendships and strengthen camaraderie between the regions.

Room and board will be provided for contestants. Each combatant may bring one guest if they like, but please give warning, so proper room adjustments can be made in advance. All battles will be televised on the major networks, so those with family or friends unable to attend will be able to watch.

Combatants are required to arrive on June 12th, allowing for appropriate time to be briefed on the overall rules as well as the roster. A formal and semi-formal party will occur during the run of this event, so please bring appropriate attire. There will also be a multitude of recreational activities and training facilities available for all contestants throughout the event. A Q&A session will also take place.

All gym leaders will be excused of official responsibilities during the event. For those with gyms that require constant upkeep, please arrange for a caretaker during the run of the event. Please contact us regarding any special needs, questions, or reasons you may be unable to attend. The Pokémon League will not be providing transportation, so please plan accordingly.

We look forward to seeing you soon. Until then, take care.

Sincerely,

Lance

June 14th… That was just three weeks away! They must have been planning this for quite awhile to get trainers from other regions to come. Well, that certainly gave Misty something to do. She only had three weeks to find a ride, find someone to take care of the gym, pack, and do some intense special training with her chosen Pokémon.

Misty quickly shuffled through the rest of the mail, happening upon another notice, with her sisters' names listed. They had been asked to compete? Misty's excitement dropped. Her sister's were not talented in Pokémon battling at all. Why would the League want them? Misty grabbed the rest of the mail and dashed to the bathroom on the main floor.

"Daisy?" Misty called.

"Like, what Misty?" Daisy said, irritation dripping in her voice.

"You have an urgent notice from the Pokémon League."

Silence.

Clearly she was going to have to resort to a different strategy to get her sister's attention.

"And the new Cosmo arrived today," Misty said, praying it would have the desired effect. The sound of sloshing of water followed by the sound of Daisy fumbling with a towel and door handle told her it had. Daisy threw the door open, greedily grasping the magazine with a dripping hand.

"I was wondering if I could open your notice Daisy," Misty quickly said before her sister slammed the door in her face muttering a quick "Whatever."

Misty, wasting no time, tore the envelope open. She quickly skimmed the letter, only to find that her sisters were not contestants, but asked to be entertainment. Apparently they were expected to perform a number for both the opening and closing ceremonies.

Misty leaned against the wall and heaved a heavy sigh of relief. The world was spared from seeing her sisters' laughable training skills. This was something to celebrate.

But it would have to wait. Now was the time to figure out which Pokémon she would take. Misty beamed just thinking about it. She didn't have to hold back. She could take Gyarados out and not have to worry about scarring some rookie for life. She could actually have her Pokémon live up to their true potential. And, Misty was determined to make the most of this opportunity. The fact that this further turned her thoughts from you know who was just an added bonus.

/

Misty shared the letter's contents with Daisy the next day. Daisy, ecstatic about the news, called up Violet and Lily to tell them the great news. The two promised to be back as fast as they could so they could make sure their numbers were perfect for live television. Daisy wasted no time working on the choreography for the numbers, forcing Misty at times to fill in for their absent sisters, despite Misty's complaints and valid arguments against such help.

In the time Misty wasn't forced into helping out Daisy or performing her duties as gym leader, she was hard at work with her Pokémon. Along with training them, Misty was working out a lot more. If ever she wasn't with Daisy or her Pokémon she could easily be found in the pool doing laps or taking jogs around the park. Somehow, the idea of competition excited her into looking after herself a bit more.

Every now and then, the ache in her gut would flare up, mainly because Daisy would make an off-handed comment about her "boyfriend." It hurt to think that Daisy could see the attraction between her and Ash, but that he could be completely oblivious to it for three plus years.

On Thursday night that week, Gary called and asked if Misty could help him paint his gym the next day. Misty hesitantly accepted, not entirely comfortable with the idea of closing the gym for a day within her regular hours.

The next morning, she arrived stood with her bike outside of Viridian City gym in a pair of worn exercise shorts and a holey tank top. It felt odd being here. The last time she'd been in this gym, Ash had competed against Team Rocket for his Earth Badge with the gym collapsing immediately afterwards. Before they'd met Tracey, before Rudy, before Gary chose to become a Pokémon professor. Back when she was with Ash and Brock. Back when she never had reason to doubt Ash's feelings. Back when she knew she was his best friend.

It seemed like a lifetime ago. So many countless things had changed since then. Granted, time generally has a way of doing that. Still, coming back to a place she'd last seen in ruins wasn't exactly an easy thing to get used to. It was a simplistic building, looking a bit more like a large warehouse than a gym. As Misty walked into the building, this façade instantly melted away. The foyer was a large, curved room in which sat a main desk of smooth, rounded granite. The desk and classy tiled floors were covered by a layer of plastic. There was a small hallway off to the right of the main entrance as well as a set of large dark tinted glass doors, carefully outlined by blue painters tape, just past the main desk. The room was lit by a few skylights as well as what appeared to be a fiber optic chandelier. A step stool and small radio with paint splatters decorating them sat by one of the walls. This room was clearly one of their victims today.

Misty walked tentatively up to the glass doors and pushed one open. Inside was an expansive battlefield. Overall, the battlefield was nothing special. It was a simple large room with stadium lighting and Astroturf. The stands were about the same as one might see in a high school gym. A simple metal door was placed on the other end of the gym, behind which Misty assumed housed Gary's office. It was from this door that Gary emerged, carrying two paint buckets. He was dressed in a simple wife beater, silver running shorts, and worn tennis shoes, all of which sported blotches of paint from previous paint jobs.

"Hey Misty!"

"Hey Gary! So, what's the plan of attack?"

"We're going to paint the front of the building and work our way back. Are you a roller or paintbrush girl?" Gary called across the battlefield nodding to the buckets in his hands.

"Roller for the most part."

"You mind giving me hand?"

Misty sprinted across the field. Gary handed her the buckets then exited through the door. As Misty set the buckets down in the foyer, Gary entered with yet another bucket of paint as well as some paint trays filled with rollers and a few small paintbrushes.

As Misty began loading her roller with paint, Gary found a radio station. About an hour into the process the two had taken care of two of the largest walls, were splattered in paint and were singing along to the radio, both making comments about how badly the other one sang. Truthfully, neither was that bad, but they would never admit it to each other. When a really good song would come on, whoever was closest to the radio would turn it up and they would sing as loud as they could.

The foyer was completed without incident. The same couldn't be said for the bathrooms. The tipping point came when Misty hesitantly asked the question burning a hole in her brain. "So, how was your date?"

"It was alright. I took her out to dinner and then she insisted on watching a movie back at her place. Though, there was much watching going on, if you know what I mean," Gary said, with a wink.

Misty giggled in response. "So are you going to see her again?" Misty asked serious again.

"Nah. She was alright, but in the end she wasn't worth my time. Why? Are you jealous?" Gary asked, smirking at her.

"Yea right. Why would I be jealous?"

"Because I, Gary Oak, am spending time with another girl."

"And just what makes you think that I care what you do?"

"Because I know you secretly want to jump me in my sleep, don't try to deny it."

"Like I would ever be interested in someone like you? I like to actually be in the same room as the person I'm dating. Your massive ego wouldn't allow for such luxuries."

Gary crossed the short distance of the bathroom, trapping Misty against the wall. "Really? Because we seem to be in the same room right now. A bit closer than that if my calculations are correct."

Misty mouth went dry and her heart began to race. He was so close; she could feel his breath tickling the baby fine hairs on the back of her neck.

"Considerably closer…" Misty managed to croak.

Gary placed an air light kiss on Misty neck. She froze almost instantaneously. Gary then trailed a finger down her cheek, leaving behind a cold trail of wet paint. Misty now understood what he was doing. If that's how he wanted it to be, then two could play at this game.

Misty quickly turned in his arms and leaned forward slowly, inclining her head for a kiss, only to pull away and quickly tap his face with her dripping paint brush at the last second. Both burst out laughing and from which ensued an all out paint war. Eventually, the two exited the bathroom covered in paint speckles. By this point it was just past noon, so the two decided to take a break.

"Red, you do realize this paint is going to take forever to get out of my hair," Gary said, indicating to a particularly white patch which decorated one of his treasured cinnamon brown spikes.

"I figured it was only fair," Misty replied indicating to her now white bangs, the hairs sticking out at odd angles.

"Sure. Blame everything on me," Gary said with a smirk over his sandwich.

The two were sitting in Gary's kitchen. Misty was surprised to learn that Gary had renovated the back of the gym to be house, much like her own gym. From what Misty had seen there was a modest kitchen and living room, sparsely decorated. Misty spotted what she assumed would be an office on the other side of the living room as well as a set of stairs. There were a few windows along the back wall and a simple doorway leading to the gravel driveway in the back.

"So, are we painting back here today?" Misty asked, setting down her lemonade.

"A bit of it. This place is too big to paint all of it in one day. Luckily, Gramps hired professionals to do the battlefield. It would have been awful to do," Gary said. Misty let out a sigh of relief. She had been secretly hoping to avoid that room. "I've already painted in here and in the living room. Two rooms upstairs are ready to be painted today though. I think once we finish those it'll be time to call it a day."

The upstairs was comprised of a simple sitting room at the top of the stairs followed by a short hallway comprised of a bathroom, two guest rooms, and a master bedroom at the end of the hall. From what Misty could tell through a crack in the door, Gary had already painted and decorated the master bedroom. He led her into one of the guest bedrooms and they began the third room of the day.

"So, Gary, if you don't mind me asking, why do you have such a big living area? I mean you're the only one that lives here. Why all the guest rooms? I mean, you could just put in a big game room or make the first floor a giant lounge area. I just don't understand," Misty said, choosing to keep her eyesight away from the brunette working on the neighboring wall.

"I did it largely for resale purposes. Just because I'm not married doesn't mean that a future gym leader will be as well. Besides, I figure that if someday I do decide to have a family, it'd be nice to only have to make a few renovations to accommodate a family, rather than redo everything."

"Oh…" Misty replied. It made sense when she thought about it. Although, she wasn't sure if she could really see Gary with anyone in the long term sense. For some reason, she just couldn't imagine it.

"So, have you heard about the Pokémon League Tournament?" Gary asked, pulling Misty from her thoughts.

"Yes. I got my invitation last weekend," Misty said, her excitement finding its way into her voice.

"It will be an interesting experience. There will be so many different Pokémon and trainers all together in one place trying to prove themselves."

"I hadn't even thought of that. There really will be a lot of unique trainers there. We'll probably get to see all sorts of different Pokémon!" Misty exclaimed thinking in particular of the different water Pokémon she might get to see.

"So, have you found anyone to take care of the gym yet?" Gary asked, reloading his roller.

"I've found a few likely candidates, but no one for sure yet."

"Have you asked Tracey?" Gary asked.

"Like Daisy would let me? He wouldn't be able to 'like totally fall in love with her like gorgeous voice,'" Misty said, twirling a finger in her side ponytail. Gary snickered. "She fully intends to bring him along to the tournament, whether he wants to be there or not."

"So who are these candidates then?" Gary asked, returning to the wall.

"The one I'm leaning towards at the moment is a local trainer who happens to be a friend of the family. He's helped me around the gym before so I figure it will be easier for him to pick up than it would be for the others I'm considering. Besides, I've known him for years, so I don't have to worry about him sabotaging the gym or anything," Misty said, standing on her tiptoes trying to reach a difficult spot without the help of a stepstool.

"Makes sense to me," Gary said. "So, do you need a ride to the event?"

"Seeing as I'd rather not ride my bike through Victory Road, yes," Misty said.

"Then allow me to spare you from such horrors, my lady," Gary said sweeping into a bow.

Misty giggled then said with a mock curtsy, "I would be honored, my good sir."

Once they had finished painting, the two took showers to get all of the paint off of themselves. Afterward, Gary ordered a pizza, claiming he was far too exhausted to cook, and Misty couldn't help but agree. After pizza, Misty suggested a walk in the park, since they'd been in the house all day. The two, having changed into some clean clothes (Misty borrowing a shirt and sweats from Gary), walked around the park for a little while. They ended up sitting on the swing set for a fair amount of time.

The two talked about Misty and Ash's time on the Orange Islands. The time she spent in the Orange Islands contained some of Misty's most treasured memories. Misty valued Brock, of course, but the time the Orange Islands had seemed to seal Misty's connection with Ash. It was where she realized just how much she loved him and how far she would go to be with him. The memories were now very bittersweet, turning the knife in her stomach, reminding her just how little that time must have meant to Ash. As Misty finished telling Gary the story of Rudy on Trovita, she couldn't help but feel worthless in Ash's eyes. Her sacrifices must have meant absolutely nothing to him.

"So, what made you stay with Ash?" Gary asked.

"Honestly, I have more reasons than I could really choose from. But, I suppose the biggest reason was the fact that I knew that he needed me. We'd been through so much together. I just know he would have lost that battle without me. And he would have died several times in the Orange Islands without my help. We just needed each other. There's no other way I can really explain it. I just knew that I couldn't leave him," Misty finished, a sad look in her eyes.

She stared out across the park, reminiscing about when she'd saved Ash from drowning on Shamouti Island. "Ash is never really alone because he's got… me." Her feelings had never been stronger than when she'd been fighting those waves to save him. He was so brave and reckless. He was the cornerstone of her world. Had she lost him that day, she wasn't sure she would have known what to do.

Would she still have saved him if she'd known he was capable of hurting her like this?

Yes. She would have still thrown herself into those brutal waves without a second thought. She still would.

"And yet, here you are," Gary finally said, pulling Misty from her thoughts.

"Yes." No Ash. Miserable in Cerulean City. No hope of ever getting back to him. No reason to hope he'd ever bother coming back to her. She'd always given things up for him. He wasn't one to give up anything for her. He never had been.

Misty struggled not to cry, eventually failing.

"Is he the reason?" Gary asked, meaningfully, his intense blue eyes latched onto her blue-green ones. He didn't have to elaborate. She knew what he was asking. And she wasn't going to bother lying. The truth was written all over her face. She nodded slowly, breaking eye contact.

"My sisters made me come back and take care of the gym. I didn't have a choice," Misty said, crying, staring at the ground, anywhere but those intense blue eyes. "He didn't fight for me. He just let me go. He never even tried to keep me. He even congratulated me on getting my bike back because I would be able to go home faster."

Gary let her cry for awhile, stroking her back comfortingly. Finally he whispered, "He's the one missing out. Not you. You're so much better than that. You deserve someone willing to fight for you." He fought to catch her eyes, but she kept them glued to the pebbles beneath her feet.

Misty couldn't say anything. She was too upset and didn't believe a word he said. She loved Ash and he threw her away. Ash didn't love her. He probably never had. He'd replaced her within days for starting off on his journey to Hoenn. And yet… Gary's comforting words seemed to soothe something inside of her. The hole almost seemed to shrink a little bit. The beast eating her alive slowed in its destructive path.

The two ended up walking back to the gym, Gary wrapping his arm around Misty protectively. She leaned into him, glad for his warmth in the cool of twilight. She felt safe there, if only for a little while. Once back at the gym, Gary bid her goodnight, gave her a reassuring hug and a light kiss on the forehead.

As Misty settled down on his forest green suede couch for the night, she couldn't help but realize that he was slowly becoming her rock. He helped her forget and for some reason, the hole in her chest felt smaller with him around. Did he fix the problem, no. But, he made it easier to deal with.

But, as much as her heart longed to trust him, her logic questioned him and his intentions. She didn't want to get hurt again. She'd been hurt far too deeply by one she'd trusted with her very life to give Gary that kind of power over her. Besides, there was Gary's reputation to consider. He was known for always putting himself first. The last thing she wanted was to be this playboy's next sob story.


	5. Some Fun Now

Misty woke up on the couch that Saturday morning to the sun was streaming in through the windows, falling directly onto her face. She groaned at the unwanted beam of light and turned to face the back of the couch. Misty often rose with the sun anymore. It gave her time to get everything up and running, also giving her time to go for a swim before things got busy and she had to open the gym. Misty stole a bleary eyed glance at the clock on the wall to find that it was nine o'clock. So, it wasn't too late, but late enough to make Misty feel like she'd lost a descent chunk of her day.

She surrendered herself to consciousness and sat up. Now she was faced with a new dilemma. She was in someone else's home, which meant she had to be a good guest. But she was a bit hungry and knew without a doubt that Gary was still fast asleep. As much as she dreaded the idea, her growling stomach refused to be ignored.

Misty started her ascent upstairs to Gary's room. She tentatively opened the door at the end of the hallway to see Gary tangled in his comforter. A mischievous thought hit Misty. She took a few steps forward, avoiding the discarded clothes that littered his floor. She slowly crawled onto his bed and took the unused pillow from its resting spot. Before she could fully grasp how foolhardy this plan truly was, she brought the pillow down on Gary's head several times in quick succession.

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty!" Misty said, giggling at her childish act, but the giggle died in the throat, when Gary glared at her through a half opened eye. Bad idea.

Moving with surprising agility, Gary pulled Misty down onto the bed with him. He had her pinned to his body in a surprisingly strong hold. Misty squirmed against him, trying to get free.

"Please let me go. I'm hungry and you need to be a good host and feed me!" Misty whined, finishing with a pout.

"Well, you know there's only one way to wake up Sleeping Beauty," Gary murmured, his eyes closed once again, though a faint smirk graced his lips.

Oh no. She had held onto her first kiss far too long to let him have it for being a Snorlax. She'd always dreamt that she and Ash would confess their feelings and then it'd just happen. But, then again, Ash didn't care, so why should she. No! She was too strong for that! She would not just surrender her first kiss to this sleepy, attractive playboy.

"Pfft. You're no fairy tale princess," Misty said.

"You're certainly not a prince either," he said giving her butt a playful smack.

Misty was about to pound him to kingdom come with her mallet for his brazen move, but remembered that Gary had her arms pinned to her sides. Misty glared at him. He merely kept that infuriating smirk on his lips. Oh he was so dead when she could move again.

After a few minutes of lying there, Misty noticed Gary's breathing had evened out. The smirk had relaxed and he was clearly asleep again. And yet after a short lived struggle she realized that he still had a vice grip on her. Just her luck. Misty sighed. Despite her best efforts not to, Misty found herself marveling at him. He was more toned than she'd given him credit for. And his hair looked so soft, which she found surprising since he clearly used a lot of gel on a daily basis. He looked so peaceful too. Misty found that he was even more attractive without that smirk marring his handsome face. And Misty noticed the faint scent of a woodsy aftershave. He probably was a good kisser too.

Ok. These thoughts were going places Misty wasn't sure she wanted them to go. But, she couldn't exactly get away from him… How could she avoid thinking about him when she was less than an inch away from him face? She finally decided sleep would be her safest option, because she clearly wasn't going anywhere until he decided to wake up.

/

"Like, hello?" Daisy said as she answered the videophone.

"Oh, hi Daisy," Ash said, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't realize you guys were back. Is Misty around?"

"Oh aren't you like Misty's boyfriend?" Daisy asked.

"Wah? No! We're just friends!" Ash defended, nearly falling out of his chair. "Now can I talk to her or not?"

"Whatever. She's like not here right now," Daisy responded twirling a blonde lock around her finger.

"Oh. Well, do you have any idea when she'll be back?" Ash asked.

"No clue. She like left yesterday morning and hasn't come back yet." Daisy noticing the perturbed look on Ash's face quickly added, "But, like don't worry. She's been like doing this since I've gotten back home. It's like part of her routine anymore. I'm sure she'll be back sometime today. I'll like let her know you called."

"Yea. Thanks Daisy," Ash said hanging up the videophone.

"Ready to go Ash?" Brock asked from the PokéCenter's door where he was waiting with May and Max.

"Yea. I guess so. I just wanted to tell Misty, but I guess it'll have to wait," Ash said, joining them. As they walked out of the PokéCenter's door, one thought dominated Ash's mind. Where could she be?

/

When Misty woke up again, she found herself still in Gary's arms. He was not asleep though. He was quite awake and smirking at her.

"Now who's Sleeping Beauty?" Gary asked.

"Not by choice," Misty grumbled, stifling a yawn.

Maintaining his hold on her, Gary's fingers began teasing a few tendrils of Misty's loose shoulder length hair. It was nice, Misty decided, waking up next to someone who cared about you, even if they were just friends. She felt very safe in his arms. Misty closed her eyes with a sigh and unconsciously leaned into Gary. His grip loosened and he began to trace little patterns across her back. Gary ended up closing his eyes as well, his chin resting slightly on Misty's head.

It was nice, feeling safe and loved. She wasn't used to long hugs for no reason or unnecessary physical contact. Her sisters only hugged her on occasion and Ash and Brock weren't really big on hugging either. Despite traveling together for years, they didn't hug when they'd left each other. It had felt like she'd been drifting away and no one was trying to stop her. Then, she found Gary. He'd saved her from drowning in her own self pity and he probably didn't even know it.

A grumble broke the serenity of that late morning. Misty blushed in embarrassment while Gary simply laughed. His laugh was like music, she decided. It was light and airy, befitting their calm surroundings. It rumbled his chest just slightly, allowing Misty to feel the vibration resonate in her own body.

"I suppose that means it's time for breakfast huh?" Gary asked, giving her a final squeeze before releasing her and sitting up.

As Misty watched him walk down the hall she couldn't help but mutter, "Unfortunately," sending a small glare at her betraying stomach.

/

"No! I'm not coming out! I feel like cream puff! There is no way you will get me to wear this in public, let alone out of this stall!" Misty yelled from behind the closed door.

"Misty, you like have to come out sometime. The longer you like drag this out the longer we'll be here," Violet said from one of the chairs positioned outside the stall.

Violet and Lily had arrived back in Cerulean that Saturday morning, the expected arrival date for the tournament less than two weeks away. The moment Misty walked through the gym's front door that afternoon, her sister's whisked her away to Cerulean Mall's largest department store.

Here they were, two hours later and not a bit closer to reaching their goal: find Misty appropriate attire for the dances. Misty was finding fault in everything they'd tried. Granted, the dresses they were giving her to try on were full of bows, ruffles, glitter, or tulle or some combination of the above. The current one Misty was complaining about was a pink chiffon halter top with a billowing skirt composed of layer upon fluffy layer of tulle with rhinestones trailing down the topmost layer.

Misty conceded to get the embarrassment over with and stepped out of the stall.

Her sisters were alight with their excitement and admiration of the dress. But, in the end they decided it was definitely not Misty, though Misty chose not to dwell upon the words they'd used to get across that point.

"Can I please go pick out something for myself?" Misty asked showing off yet another awful choice. It was a flowing knee length canary yellow dress with a giant fabric flower on Misty shoulder. It made Misty look like she was wearing a spiffed up potato bag, not a dress.

"No offense Misty, but we're looking for a formal dress and you're like not exactly great at picking out clothes in the first place," Lily said from her own chair.

"Just let me pick out a few. If they're awful then you guys can go on picking. Deal?" Misty prayed they would go for it. She was tired of being their life-size Barbie.

The Sensational Sisters looked at each other, each sharing a look of understanding, realizing that it was a way to get Misty to be compliant if nothing else. "Like, go for it Misty," Daisy answered.

Misty wasted no time. She rummaged through the dresses, praying she could find one. After a few minutes of searching, her eyes alighted upon the perfect dress hanging in the back a clothing rack. It had just enough sparkle to satisfy her sisters, but was simple enough that she wouldn't feel ridiculous in it. She just prayed it was in her size. She brought along a few others that she could live with should the dress not fit or look awful on her, as well as a few casual choices for the other dance. As Misty zipped up the choice formal dress she couldn't help but squeal. This was the one. She opened the door to see her sisters' jaws drop.

"Oh," Lily said.

"My," Violet said.

"Gawd!" Daisy exclaimed. "If you don't get this dress I will like totally kill you! It's perfect!"

"Agreed," Lily chimed in.

"Misty, you like are officially a Sensational Sister," Violet added, gazing proudly at the woman their sister had become.

Misty found herself beaming at the compliment. Not only would she get to wear this gorgeous dress, but her sister's pretty much accepted her as a part of their family group.

The rest of the day was spent at the mall picking out the finishing touches to Misty's outfits. Daisy, Lily, and Violet ended up offering Misty a part in one of their pieces for the tournament. Misty at first refused, seeing as she would likely be busy and would have certain responsibilities as a contestant in the tournament. The elder sisters claimed that they had a piece in back up should it be needed in which Misty's talents could be showcased easily. Misty eventually agreed, figuring the opportunity wouldn't come up for the piece anyway. Besides, her sisters were accepting her. She may be quite different from them, but she had always wanted to be considered one of the Sensational Sisters and now she finally was.

/

"Wait… So what exactly happened?" Duplica asked, her blue eyebrow raised on the videophone's projection.

"Like I told you, there was mild flirting and I told him about Ash."

"See! I knew he liked you!" Duplica squealed.

"Duplica, he's Gary Oak! Besides, he flirts with every girl," Misty said, defending her reasoning.

"I'm sorry, but I'm a skeptic and I say he likes you until you prove to me otherwise," Duplica said, crossing her arms.

"He went on a date with a girl earlier in the week. He made it pretty clear that they were doing more than just hanging out."

"So, you knew about his date?" Duplica asked, resting her chin on a fist.

"Yes."

"Was he the one to tell you about it?"

"Yes…"

"He's trying to make you jealous!" Duplica concluded, proudly crossing her arms.

"I highly doubt that," Misty said, leaning back in her chair.

"Why?"

"What reason would he have to make me jealous? I mean, we're just friends."

Duplica shook her head. "How was that supposed to convince me?"

Misty simply shrugged. "So have you heard about the upcoming tournament at the Indigo Plateau?"

"That was a terrible attempt at changing the subject. But, I'll bite. Yes I have! I'm actually trying to figure out how to crash it! I mean it would be a great opportunity for me to show off my skills and get some publicity!" Duplica said.

"Well, perhaps I could pull a few strings and get you a room."

"Really?" Duplica asked, shooting Misty her best Teddiursa face.

"I make no guarantees about getting you publicity. That one's all on you, but I'm allowed a guest."

"You are so awesome Misty! You have no idea how much I love you right now! I'm going to go get ready!" Duplica said, reaching for the button to disconnect the call.

"Duplica! Check in isn't for another week," Misty said.

"I know. But I need to prepare! See ya soon!" Duplica said, before disconnecting the call.

Misty set the receiver down with a shake of her head. Leave it to Duplica. Misty could just picture her rummaging through her bags trying to figure which of her crazy outfits she should bring.

/

It's the morning of June 12th and Misty is anxiously waiting for Gary to arrive. Her suitcase and dress bag sit waiting by the front door. Misty quickly checked her belt to ensure all the appropriate Pokémon were present and went through a mental checklist to make sure she wasn't forgetting something simple, like her toothbrush or underwear.

After going through her mental checklist for about the 5th time in 3 minutes, Misty saw Gary's shiny red convertible drive into parking lot. She quickly grabbed her bags and bolted towards the car.

"Excited I take it?" Gary asked.

"I've only been planning for this for about a month!" Misty said, throwing her bags into the trunk.

"Well then, I'd hate to be responsible for you having to wait any longer. Buckle up," Gary said, shifting the car into gear.

As the wind pulled at her hair on the highway, Misty let out a whoop of excitement. "We're finally on our way!"

Gary chuckled. "We most certainly are."

The drive took about three hours due to the mountainous pass through Victory Road. Both were getting antsy due to the long car ride. Finally, the entrance to the Indigo Plateau was in sight. Gary pulled the convertible into a parking spot and grabbed as many bags as he could handle, leaving Misty with only her dress bag to carry. They walked to the hotel they had been told the contestants would be staying at to see many different people milling around outside. They spotted a few familiar faces like Lt. Surge and Whitney in the small crowd outside. Misty could only assume the paparazzi were only a few hours behind since she hadn't witnessed any just yet. That in and of itself was rather surprising seeing as they should have been all over this. It was easily the biggest tournament of the year.

As they entered the lavish hotel, Misty's curiosity was sated. The lobby was filled with reporters and camera flashes. As the two pushed their way through the crowd, Misty found herself distracted by some of the questions the two were barraged with.

"So, is it true that you two are dating?"

"What are you researching right now?"

"What are your upcoming plans?"

"How long has this relationship been going on between you two?"

"Will you be joining your sisters in show business anytime soon?"

The sheer amount of questions being thrown at them was shocking. Even if she did respond, how would they even hear her over the cacophony? It was crazy. The entire foyer was crazy! Misty almost lost Gary amongst the waves of reporters all hoping to find a scoop. Pushing her way through the crowd, Misty reached out to grab onto Gary's wrist, to ensure she wouldn't lose track of him again.

After dropping Misty off at her room, Gary walked down the hall carrying his bag, off to find his room on the floor above. Once inside, Misty was thrilled to see Duplica waiting for her on the forest green couch. Their hotel room was a simple suite with a main bedroom, bathroom, a small kitchen and living space with a pullout couch. Nothing fancy, but certainly better than the average hotel room.

After catching up, Misty noticed a tentative schedule on the table. Apparently she was free to do as she pleased until 5 o' clock. Seeing as it was just past lunch, Misty figured she and Duplica could wander the area. After going out the back door, to avoid the paparazzi, they walked around the plaza located about a block away from their hotel. It was clear the competitors were seeking shelter here rather than the hotel. Misty found herself catching up with gym leaders she had met on her journey with Ash as well as making friends with new ones. Misty found that she liked the blue haired trainer, Brawly. He had an interesting training style for his Pokémon that Misty couldn't help but appreciate.

"He's cute," Duplica said as they head in the opposite direction as the blue haired gym leader.

"Yea. Maybe he could give us surfing lessons sometime," Misty said, her eyes lighting up at the idea.

"Did I say anything about surfing? I'm talking about a toned guy who seems to have a great personality and you're focusing on sports! What am I going to do with you?"

"What? I never said there was anything wrong with him; I'm just saying it might be fun to go surfing with him."

Duplica glared at Misty.

"What? He's cute but not my type alright?" Misty finally said.

"Oh I know your type. So, you'd be more likely to go with someone like a certain brunette," Duplica said, playfully elbowing Misty.

"No way! You're crazy!" Misty shouted in defense.

"Boy talk!" another red-head yelled rushing towards the two towing a slightly bewildered girl with lavender hair. "Hi! I'm Flannery, leader of the Lavaridge gym! And this," the red-head said, motioning to her friend, "is Winona."

"Leader of the Fortree gym and head of the Hoenn Gym Leaders," Winona finished.

"Nice to meet you two! My name's Misty, Cerulean Gym Leader and this my friend Duplica."

"So… I know I heard boy talk. Who are you scoping out?" Flannery asked excitedly. Winona simply shook her head with a laugh.

"Well you see, Misty here has a thing for the new leader of Viridian City's Gym, Gary," Duplica explained.

"I do not! We're just friends, I've told you!" Misty said berating the bluenette. "Besides, you were just drooling over Brawly."

"So? I'm single and allowed to look if I please."

"Ah. Brawly. Good choice. He's a total sweetheart," Flannery added. "Though you will have to introduce me to this Gary character."

"Are any of you guys looking at anyone right now?" Duplica asked.

"I'm flying solo for the moment. But, Winona here had a thing with Wallace for awhile," Flannery said, sending a playful glance at her friend.

"That's ancient history!"Winona shouted, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"Then why does he still try so hard to get your attention?" Flannery said with a smirk that reminded Misty a bit of Gary.

"It's not my fault he's thick and can't accept the fact that we're through," Winona muttered, crossing her arms.

The four ended up chatting, realizing they had quite a lot in common. They were just about to head back to the hotel so the leaders could go to their meeting, when they heard a familiar voice behind them, "Hey Misty!"

Misty stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening. Flannery and Winona looked on with curiosity. It couldn't be. There was just simply no possible way he could be here. Could there? Misty slowly turned, hoping she was wrong, hoping her ears had deceived her. Yet, there he was running up to her with that smile that made her heart melt. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Ash…" Misty breathed.


	6. Unexpected Guests

She had to be dreaming. There couldn't be any other plausible explanation. It was something that she could only have dreamt up. There was no way that the black haired boy she loved and followed around for years could be running towards her with that goofy smile at the Indigo Plateau. It was too impossible, too crazy.

"Pikachupi!"

Her frantic thoughts were interrupted by a yellow rodent jumping into her arms. She looked down at Pikachu, who was clearly beyond thrilled to see her. As her mind registered this, she gave the mouse Pokémon a hug and began to scratch him just behind his ear.

"Cha!" Pikachu said appreciatively.

"Misty, I can't believe I found you so quickly! Talk about luck," Ash said stopping right in front of her. Misty half wished he would hug her. It seemed natural, right? They hadn't seen each other in person in quite a while and were supposedly best friends. Why shouldn't they hug?

That thought was what made Misty realize she wasn't dreaming. In her dreams Ash would have hugged her without a second thought. Yet, in reality, he was two feet from her, with Pikachu snuggled in her arms. This was real. He was here, not on the other side of the world, but right in front of her.

His hair was a bit longer, his clothes a bit more worn and he was also the slightest bit taller than her now. It was the wrong hat. It wasn't the hat that she herself had tried to win all those years ago. Yet another thing he'd discarded. But his eyes still held that same glow they always had, that same glow that brought back a million fond memories and made her legs feel like jello. And he was here looking at her expectantly. It was like a dream.

And a horrible nightmare. Misty felt sick to her stomach. The hole that had begun healing ripped at the seams. The source of the pain was the same boy who made her knees weak. It was an awful feeling to be so undeniably in love with someone who was the source of all the pain and betrayal she'd been dealing with for months.

"Hey Misty! It's nice to see you again," Brock said, standing with May and Max, who were waving at Misty just slightly behind Ash. May was avoiding looking at anyone, choosing to focus on the stones that decorated the ground of the plaza. Max, on the other hand was listening intently to the conversation, ready to jump in at a moment's notice.

"What are you guys doing here?" Misty forced out.

"I'm here to compete," Ash said proudly.

"Compete?" Misty asked, still petting Pikachu.

"Yea. Mom got the invitation about a month ago and told me all about the tournament when I called her. I tried to tell you, but you were never home when I called," Ash explained with a slightly hurt look.

Misty was embarrassed. She didn't realize Ash would be one of the "notable trainers" mentioned in the notice.

"Hey, don't forget about me," Brock interjected. "I am a gym leader after all."

"But, Flint and Forrest have been running the Pewter Gym," Misty challenged.

"Well Dad apparently had some plans with Mom, so Forrest is stuck watching everyone, so they asked me to compete in their place."

"I think introductions are in order," Winona interjected. "My name is Winona, and these are Flannery and Duplica."

"Oh, we've already met. He won a heat badge from me nearly two months ago," Flannery said. "I didn't realize you two knew each other though," she said motioning at Misty and Ash.

"Misty was my first traveling companion when I started my journey and is my best friend," Ash said with a smile.

Misty grimaced. Did he like turning the knife in her back? All that time together, only to be left and replaced without a second thought. He still called her his best friend?

"And I met Ash, Misty, and Brock when they were traveling around Kanto. By the way, who are your friends?" Duplica asked, pointing to May and Max.

"Oh, I'm Max and this is my sister May. Our dad is the leader of the Petalburg gym!" Max excitedly explained, not noticing how abnormally quiet his sister was being.

/

"Do you see what I see?" a red haired woman said looking through her binoculars from her hiding spot in the bushes surrounding the Indigo Plateau plaza.

"Huh?" a man said clearly distracted by the cup of noodles he was greedily devouring.

"James! Pay attention," the woman scolded the purple haired man.

"But Jessie," James whined, "I'm so hungry. You can't expect me to starve!"

"You won't starve, at least not today," the red headed woman said under her breath. "Now look!" Jessie shoved the binoculars into James' face.

"Well the architecture is certainly lovely, but I really don't see how that affects us."

"Not the buildings you numbskull!" Jessie said, smacking James with a paper fan. James tenderly rubbed the red spot on his cheek. "Now look at that group a little to the left of the fountain."

"It's the twerps. So what? We followed them here. It's really not that big of a surprise," James said, shrugging Jessie off in favor of his noodles.

Jessie groaned. "Look carefully at the group, idiot," Jessie said shoving the binoculars at James again.

"Why, it's the original twerpette!" James said in revelation.

"Da twerpette? Lemme see!" Meowth said, bounding from the bag of stolen food a few feet away to James' shoulder. "Hm… I wonder what she's doin' here."

"Uh, who cares? We have other problems now that she's added to the mix," Jessie said, while grabbing herself an onigiri from the sack.

"What do you mean Jessie?" James asked.

"With her back in the picture, we have to worry about her helping out the twerp again. She's another person keeping us from stealing that Pikachu. And it certainly looks like those girls with her will be more than willing to help out."

"Hm… It certainly is a dilemma," James replied thoughtfully.

"Da Hoenn twerpette doesn't look too pleased," Meowth said with a snicker.

"Perhaps she's jealous. The twerp and that red head were quite the romantic couple back in the Orange Islands if I recall correctly," James reasoned.

"You mean when we caught them on the plane?" Jessie asked.

"No, they were rather close in general during that time were they not?"

"I suppose they were…"

"I say we watch dis for a little bit. Besides, with so many powerful trainers all in one place dat means dere are a lot of powerful Pokémon for us to steal!" Meowth said with a mischievous smile. "Besides, if da twerps are distracted by dere quarrels, perhaps dey will be distracted enough for us to steal dat Pikachu!"

"Oooo! What a perfectly splendid idea!" James exclaimed with his trademark squeal.

"WOM-buffet!" Wombuffet called after escaping his pokéball.

"Uh! Who asked you?" Jessie said with a groan, recalling the blue Pokémon.

/

The meeting was taking place in a sizeable room on the main floor of the hotel with chairs facing a wooden podium. It was rather intimidating to walk into that room. There were so many people competing. Misty hadn't pictured nearly this many when she read the invitation. Looking around the room she could see she was wrong. There had to be over 50 people in this room. Due to their late arrival many of the seats were already taken in the room. Winona and Flannery were able to find a seat together near the back. Brock bounded for the open seat next to Clair. Misty, anxious not to be left alone with Ash for a second longer than necessary bolted for one of the last seats, which happened to be positioned near the front. She sank into her seat heaving a grateful sigh.

"Hi Misty. Long time no see," the person sitting next to her said.

Misty turned to her neighbor only to have her heart nearly stop. She was sitting next to Rudy of Trovita Island, the man she'd practically kicked to the curb to stay with Ash. That's it. She officially had the worst luck imaginable. Who would have even guessed they'd bring the Orange Island gyms into this tournament? And now she was stuck for who knows how long next to the only other person in the entire room she was awkward around besides Ash. Why couldn't she have sat next to Erika or Falkner?

"Hi," Misty timidly responded with a weak, half hearted wave.

"Glad to see you again. So, how have things been with you?" Rudy asked.

"Yea. Things have been… alright. And you? How have things been with your sister?" Misty asked.

"Oh she's been—"

"Can I have your attention please?" Lance said from the podium. The chatter quickly died down and Misty couldn't have been happier at his timing.

"On behalf of the Pokémon League, I'd like to welcome everyone to the competition! I must say I'm glad to see so many of you were able to come. I hope everyone's travels went well. We are proud to have each of the gyms and Elite Four throughout the nearby regions represented in this room as well as some notable trainers from those regions as well. I'm sure everyone will get acquainted throughout our time here together.

Now to start off, I'd like to explain the rules and setup of the tournament. The rules are simple. The preliminaries will be determined by a team match, where your team will be determined an hour prior to your battle. All matches, excluding the finals, will be 3-on-3. The semi-final match will be quite unique, but we'll address that when the time comes. Competitors should be prepared for anything. I think you will find that this tournament will be unlike anything you've ever competed in before.

Now don't worry if you are eliminated from the competition because we will have more than enough activities happening outside of the tournament to keep you busy. An activity sign-up sheet will be online for all competitors and their guests.

Tomorrow the semi-formal dance will be taking place in the hotel's ballroom starting around 8pm. Now are there any questions?" Lance finished.

Once the meeting finished, Misty quickly excused herself from Rudy, latching onto Winona and Flannery with a hurried, "Bathroom break?"

"So, what's the deal with you and Ash?" Flannery asked as they walked into the polished bathroom.

"Yea, you looked like you saw a Gengar when you saw him," Winona said.

Misty groaned, nearly collapsing against the marble counter. "I'm in love with him," Misty simply said. Flannery and Winona simply stared at her slightly in shock. "Long story short, I traveled with him for three wonderful years. About half a year ago my sisters called me telling me to come home to take care of the gym. He practically smiled when he saw me go. It was like he was thrilled that I was out of his hair," Misty said, struggling to keep form breaking down right there.

"Oh sweetie!" Flannery cried, running to embrace her new friend.

"Does he know how you feel?" Winona asked rubbing Misty's back in support.

"I don't think so," Misty sniffled, "and I plan to keep it that way. I was finally starting to get over him." Misty straightened up. "And to top it off, a guy who offered me the world is out there competing too. I just know he's going to ask about Ash and how things went there. And with that conversation happens I just know he's going to try again. I hate thinking that I may hurt him the way Ash hurt me."

"I think it may be best if you just act natural and enjoy yourself. Lance said there would be plenty of things to do. So, what do you say that tonight we order ourselves some pizza and have a girls' night. No boys, just fun and friends. Then, we'll have a blast tomorrow and sign up for some of those activities," Winona said.

"That sounds awesome actually," Misty said wiping a tear that had escaped from her eye.

/

The four girls were sprawled on the pullout couch in their pajamas. Flannery was wrapped up in an orange and red quilt near the back of the couch in her long sleeved, oversized black t-shirt. She claimed it was "ridiculously cold. How do you guys live like this?" as she snuggled deeper into the quilt. Winona was lying on her stomach wearing a pair light blue boxers and a white tank top with a faint silver feather design, her hair pulled back in a simple ponytail. Duplica was wearing a baggy orange shirt and kelly green sport shorts, next to Flannery. Misty on the other hand, was grabbing a water from the fridge in her red exercise shorts, oversized yellow t-shirt, and Marill slippers.

They were watching Lion King and were currently singing along, rather off key and with the completely wrong words, to the opening song. At that moment, a knock came at the door. Misty twisted the cap off of her water bottle as she walked towards the door. As she opened the door she took a small sig of her water, which she rather regretted once she did as she ended up spitting the beverage on their guest.

"Not exactly the welcome I had in mind," Gary said wiping the water and spit from his face with a chuckle.

"I'm so sorry Gary! I didn't mean to!" Misty apologized.

Misty noticed the TV was now silent and turned to notice the three girls were peering to see their guest. "So, uh, what brings you here?"

"Just figured you might want some company. Then I heard the sounds of a Houndoom dying and figured I'd spare the poor beast. But, now I see it's just your awful singing," Gary finished with a trademark smirk.

Misty gave him a playful smack. "Well as you can see we are quite alright and no poor Pokémon is being tortured, so if you're quite done," Misty said starting to shut the door in his face.

"Wait! I was wondering if you wanted to grab a snack or something. They have an ice cream place out in the plaza that Tracey won't shut up about. Apparently your sister already forced him to buy some for each of your sisters or something."

Misty sweat dropped out of embarrassment at her sister's actions. "Tell Tracey I'll pay him back for that." Misty turned back to look at her friends, asking with her eyes if they wanted to go. Unable to read them very well she quickly turned back to Gary. "Could you give us a second?"

Gary looked slightly taken aback, but conceded.

"Oh my gosh! He's hot!" Flannery said stifling a squeal.

"Go with him!" Duplica said.

"But, this was supposed to be a girls' night. You know, no boys, just friends and fun remember?" Misty said.

"That was before Mr. Hottie came knocking at our door," Flannery answered.

"Don't you guys want to come? I mean there's I don't want to ditch you guys," Misty replied.

The three looked at each other. "Ice cream it is!" Flannery exclaimed, deciding for the group.

/

"I can't believe they had pistachio," Misty said taking a savory lick of her ice cream cone. She hadn't had ice cream in nearly a month. It seemed a bit crazy. Before she'd had some nearly every day, but every since she'd gotten closer to Gary it seemed like she'd lost her need for her crutch. This ice cream actually tasted sweet in a way that she'd forgotten ice cream could taste.

"How can you stand that much chocolate?" Winona asked Flannery who was eating her triple chocolate ice cream cone with relish.

"What? You know I love chocolate. Besides, your strawberry is too weak, "Flannery replied taking a bite from her ice cream. Then she crouched over grasping her forehead with one hand.

"Brain freeze?" Gary asked with a laugh before taking a lick of his caramel swirl.

"Wouldn't that chocolate be too rich after awhile?" Duplica asked Flannery, who was now recovering, enjoying her raspberry cheesecake ice cream.

"Look who's talking," Flannery retorted.

"Look May! They've got ice cream! Let's go!" Max yelled from across the plaza, racing ahead of the brunette.

"Max, slow down!" May shouted, giving chase, only to stop in her tracks when she spotted the group.

"May! Come on!" Max called from the doorway.

"I'll be there in a minute Max," she called.

"I want ice cream now though!" Max whined coming up to his sister.

"Fine!" May handed him a few dollars. "Go get your ice cream. Impatient brat!" May shouted to his retreating figure.

"Uh… Hi May," Misty said.

"Could I talk to you alone for a second Misty?" May said, remembering why she sent her brother off in the first place.

"Sure," Misty said.


	7. So Beautiful

May walked over to the far side of the plaza with Misty only a few steps behind.

"What did you want to talk about May?" Misty asked.

May took a deep breath and turned to face Misty a hurt look evident on her face. "Care to explain this to me?" May pulled out a copy of the latest Teen Pokémon Scene. Misty gave her a questioning look. May then flipped to an article near the middle and held up the article featuring a rather large picture of Misty and Gary at Cerulean Cape surrounded by bright colors and a "Maybe" in bold blue letters. Misty took the magazine from May's hands and began to skim the article. Apparently, it was a gossip section attempting to answer all of the latest celebrity gossip and Gary and she were the latest hot topic. The question read "Is Gary Oak taken?"

"What do you have to say for yourself?" May asked in a seething tone, her arms crossed.

Misty shook her head. "May, this is a gossip column. What do you want me to say?"

May stood in shock. "Excuse me? I had to keep Ash away from every news stand and TV from Hoenn to Kanto! He thinks the world of you and you're off stabbing him in the back!"

"Stabbing him the back? I'm sorry my life doesn't stop for the 'almighty' Ash Ketchum. Gary and I are friends and that's not going to change because the world has nothing better to do than gossip about people." Misty fumed, using her height for intimidation. Ash may have grown, but May was still shorter than her and Misty was going to use that to her advantage.

"You're dating his rival!" May shouted, nearly crying in her passion. "What kind of friend are you? How can you stab him in the back like this? You're supposed to be best friends! He trusts you!"

Misty finally snapped. She slapped May across the cheek. May held her cheek, the angry tears running down her now slightly stinging cheek. "Don't you dare try to pretend like you know me or what has gone on in my life. Ash and I are friends. But, that doesn't mean I can't be friends with Gary. And that's all we are. Friends. These people make money spinning bullshit, May," Misty said handing the magazine back to the stunned coordinator.

"But, Gary's his rival," May said, looking feebly behind Misty at the concerned group of friends across the plaza, especially at the male in question who looked ready to jump in to break things up should it be needed.

"They made peace with each other at the end of the Silver Conference," Misty curtly replied.

"But—"

"This conversation is over May. There's nothing more to discuss," Misty said, walking away from the weeping girl. May stood there stunned.

"What did she want to talk about?" Gary asked with a slightly concerned look as Misty approached.

"Nothing important," Misty said, her cheeks flushing slightly, remembering what the column had insinuated.

"Are you sure? I mean, you slapped her. That doesn't seem like 'nothing important' to me," Flannery said, glancing back at the still stunned girl across the plaza.

Misty took a deep calming breath and simply said, "It was about some bullshit gossip that she took seriously. That's all," Misty said taking a lick of her slightly messy ice cream in her hand. Misty noticed Max walk up to May with two ice creams out of the corner of her eye.

As the group walked back towards the hotel, Misty and Gary slowly fell behind, or rather, the girls walked faster in attempt to give the two some alone time.

"So who are you rooming with?" Misty asked.

"Oh I ended up getting my own room, though I'm pretty sure that's just because I'm so good looking and loaded," Gary said with a cocky grin on his face.

"Yea right. I think it's more your money than your looks Casanova," Misty said.

"Ah, so you admit that I'm sexy?" Gary said quirking his eyebrow.

"In your dreams," Misty said, determined to focus on the dark walkway. She knew if she looked at him that statement wouldn't be as convincing.

"Ha! You know you like me Red. Don't bother denying it. In fact I know you like me so much that you will die if I don't ask you to the dance tomorrow," Gary said, slipping an arm around her shoulder.

"Well, in that case, I'm going to have to say no," Misty said matter-of-factly.

"Why?" Gary asked, shooting her a smirk.

"To prove you wrong, of course," Misty replied with a smirk of her own.

"You want me Red. It's only a matter of time before you realize it."

"Dream on."

"Are you sure you want that? My dreams aren't all rated G you know," Gary said with a suggestive wiggle of the eyebrow.

Misty shoved him playfully while saying "Pervert!"

"Hey, you went there. Not me." By this time they had made it to Misty's room. "See ya tomorrow, Red," Gary said before embracing her. Misty made the most of the moment by inhaling a deep breath of his scent, a touch of musk, cinnamon, and the slightest hint the great outdoors.

"See you Gary," Misty said.

"Smell ya later," Gary said in a soft tone releasing Misty. She shook her head as she saw him saunter down the hall. He was far too attractive for his own good. She could have just said yes. Why didn't she say yes? Oh, because he was being pompous and talking in a way that made her want to rebel against everything he said. But, that was just the way Gary was. It was how their relationship worked. Maybe he would come and be her friendly date to the dance any way. It would be nice to spend the evening with him and spare her a run in with Rudy.

Misty sighed and finally opened the door.

"What happened?" Winona asked.

"Did you kiss?" Duplica inquired.

"Dish the dirt girl!" Flannery demanded.

"Whoa! Nothing happened. He just asked me to the dance tomorrow, that's all," Misty said putting her hands up in defense.

"And of course you said yes!" Winona squealed, causing Duplica to send her a surprised look. She'd never seen Winona so… well, like Flannery. But, then again they were good friends. They had to have some similarities.

"Actually, no," Misty said scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

"What?" the girls shouted in unison.

"Why on earth did you tell him no?" Flannery asked.

"Because, he was being… Gary," Misty replied lamely. The girls all gave her a blank stare. "I don't know how to explain it! It's just he gets to talking and the way he introduced it just made me say no. It was a knee jerk reaction."

After several awkward moments of silence Duplica finally said, "Great. The one person in this group practically guaranteed to have a date and she turns Gary Oak down because she can't play nice for 5 minutes!

"That's not to say I didn't want to say yes!" Misty exclaimed. "Besides, who says you won't have dates?"

"A solitary day is not enough to get secure a date," Duplica replied.

Flannery shot a suggestive look at Winona. "Oh no," Winona exclaimed, "I am not going to date Wallace. That is ancient history."

"Sometimes history repeats itself," Flannery replied with a smirk.

"Well what about you?" Winona said, her face flush with embarrassment.

"I plan on flying solo. I'm working on myself right now. I realize I need to be more comfortable with myself and to become a better gym leader. I don't need a guy to muddy the waters further," Flannery replied confidently, pulling in a touch of maturity.

"Wow, that's rather insightful of you," Misty said, sitting on the hide-a-bed.

"What she really means is that she is going alone so that it seems she's making a statement rather than not being able to find someone," Winona said with a touch of poison.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Flannery shouted back.

"Guys, can we please not fight right now?" Misty said, massaging one of her temples. "Let's just watch the movie, alright?"

/

"Misty stop moving!" Duplica scolded the red head.

"I'm sorry! I'm doing it on purpose," Misty said looking at the computer set up in her room.

"Well if you keep it up I'll end up burning you and I won't bother trying to convince people that you did in fact earn the mark from this curling iron," the bluenette said waving the item in question.

"Just let me sign up for the volleyball game and you can proceed with the torture, alright?"

At that moment there was a knock at the door. The moment Duplica opened the door, Lily burst into the room exclaiming "Time to make you look gorgeous baby sister!" Violet and Daisy entered the room holding containers of beauty products.

"Like, what is up with your hair?" Violet asked noticing how half of Misty's hair was straight and the other half in curls.

"Duplica was doing my hair," Misty simply said. "And I think she's doing just fine," Misty said, her arms sternly crossed.

"Whatever. We can totally do better. But, if you insist. We'll just like start on your makeup then!" Lily said.

If hell existed, surely this was it. Misty sat on the chair, a pained look on her face. Duplica accidently pulled a bit of her hair. Lily's hand slipped and poked Misty's eye with eyeliner. Daisy and Violet were currently curling their own hair in the bathroom, from which a cloud of hairspray originated. The room smelled like a cosmetics store mixed with singed hair, while Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber blared from Violet's music player. All she needed was Ash making out with May in front of her and her personal hell would be complete. That thought churned Misty's empty stomach.

Why was it that dances made girls go crazy? It's not like they were that big of a deal. You go dress up and do your hair, only to have all that work ruined by the end of the night anyways. Only a handful of people remember what happens at them. They're an excuse to get drunk and make a fool of yourself.

Misty ended her musings once Duplica told her to look in the mirror. Her hair in loose curls framing her face with just a touch of silver glitter, her bangs held back by a small rhinestone covered hair clip. It was weird to have her hair down. It felt… foreign. Like it was someone else she was looking at. The makeup didn't help either. She felt like a doll. Her face felt thick and unnatural, while her eyes popped with a dark smoky look. Misty felt ridiculous. Despite the fact that the makeup looked good, she felt like a clown.

"Hey Lily, could you go a little lighter on the eye makeup?" Duplica asked, noticing the perturbed look on her friend's face.

"Like why? She looks totally hot!" Lily responded.

"I don't think that thick of makeup is believable on Misty," Duplica stated.

"Fine, do it yourself then," Lily said, storming to the bathroom in a huff.

"Thanks," Misty said, grabbing a makeup wipe.

"Don't rub that on your eyes," Duplica said, noticing how Misty was going to town removing the makeup.

"Why not?" Misty asked.

"The skin around your eyes is really delicate. You need to use eye makeup remover. It's not as harsh," Duplica said, handing her a small bottle of the liquid.

Misty stared at the bottle for a few seconds before sighing, "I'm a terrible girl aren't I?"

Duplica stopped stunned. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't even know the right way to take makeup off, let alone put it on," Misty said, slouching into her chair. "No wonder Ash likes May better," Misty added under her breath.

"So? Who cares if you're not a girly girl. I know that kind of stuff because of what I do. Whereas, you're in the water every day, so styling your hair and wearing makeup is pointless. You don't need to be like your sisters. Not all guys go for the girls who know the shade of lipgloss that compliments their skin tone the best," Duplica said, embracing her friend, and then wiping the gaudy makeup off.

/

"There we go. Much better," Duplica said after adding a light touch of blush to the apple of Misty's cheeks. Misty had to admit, it was much better. It still felt a bit like a mask, but not as much as Lily's attempt had. There was a light shimmer of white eye shadow on her eyelids, her eyelashes sported a layer of mascara and her cheeks the dash of blush over a thin layer of foundation. A simple transformation that highlighted her features without overpowering them. Misty could confidently say that the girl she saw in the mirror was still her, just a girlier version.

"I guess you did all right," Lily huffed, holding a curling iron in her perfectly manicured hand. She promptly resumed curling her hair.

"You look so cute baby sister!" Daisy squealed, her hair up in an elaborate bun.

"Ya, just wait 'til you put on that dress. Your little boyfriend won't know what to do with himself," Violet giggled.

Misty's cheeks heated. "I don't know who you're talking about."

"Like, don't try to pretend Misty. If this doesn't make him totally head over heels for you then he has to be gay," Violet retorted, her hair up in a loose curly ponytail.

"If you're talking about Ash that's ancient history," Misty said, crossing her arms sternly.

"Well, you two would like totally be adorable together," Daisy chimed in.

"Would not!" Misty snapped.

"Uh, Misty, maybe you could help me get into my dress," Duplica intervened, pushing Misty towards the adjoining room.

"Uh, the nerve of those three. How could they think that Ash and I could be good together?" Misty ranted, once the door was closed.

"Well, you crushed on him for three years. It's not like it's that ridiculous of a thought." Duplica said, getting her dress bag out of the closet.

"It's completely ridiculous! He's a spoiled brat who's obsessed with a dream that will probably never come true and wouldn't have even kept Pikachu alive the day we met without my help. He's dense, and irritating, and has a huge hero complex and… and…" Misty collapsed on the bed. "And I can't believe I still love him."

"You can't expect to get over someone right away. You liked him for years, it's understandable that you still harbor feelings for him," Duplica said, joining Misty on the bed.

"But I don't want to. He does nothing but hurt me and strings me along. Then he goes off and gets May who's little miss perfect girly girl. I won't ever be able to compete."

"So don't try. Ash had his chance and he missed out."

"But how am I supposed to face him? We're still best friends in his eyes. I can't just outright ignore him. Just be yourself. But don't hope for his affections this time. It's not going to be easy. I mean, he broke your heart. And no one said love was easy, except for maybe Disney."

Misty giggled. "You're right."

"Now that that's settled, how about you help me get into this thing," Duplica said, pulling the champagne and black dress out of its plastic cocoon.

The dress fit like a glove. The champagne taffeta bodice was covered by a layer of black tulle flowing up to a one shoulder strap. The empire waist flowed with the taffeta lined by a layer of tulle completing the bottom, which ended right above her knees. Duplica's normally frizzy hair had been calmed and straightened into a simple, low ponytail with a fabric flower that matched the dress covering the tie.

"You look gorgeous Duplica," Misty said stepping back to admire her friend.

"Oh please. No guy is going to bother giving me a glance once they see you in your little number," Duplica said pulling out Misty's dress bag.

"That's not true. You're a knockout. I'm just a tomboy trying to be a Barbie doll."

"Yea right. Barbie wishes she had your athleticism and personality. Not to mention hair. Barbie's hair frays something terrible. And once there's a knot in it there's pretty much no way to get it out without scissors. And besides, you have to buy her friends and her boyfriend. Can you say bitch?" Duplica laughed. "Alright. In you go."

Misty slid into the white satin strapless dress. A black ribbon hung just below Misty's waist, dancing over the knee length, gathered, bubble skirt. As Duplica zipped up the back, she remembered how it seemed to fit perfectly. She felt like a Sensational Sister. It was believable that she belonged in her family for once in her life. As she stepped out of the room, Violet and Lily ran over to squeal about how adorable she looked, while Daisy nodded her head in approval from the bathroom.

At that moment a knock came from the door.

"No! I'm not ready yet!" Lily squealed dashing for the bathroom. Misty simply shook her head and answered the door.

"Hey Misty. Ready to go to the dance?" Ash asked, his eyes closed, his hand scratching the back of his head. His hair was surprisingly tidy for once and he was in a simple suit that didn't fit quite right. It was clear that the suit had been designed without the proper measurements. The sleeves were a bit short and the pants a tad too long.

"Ash?" Misty asked in surprise.

"Who were you expecting Mist?" he asked in that adorably nonchalant way, his use of her nickname melting her resolve a trifle. Then he seemed to take in her appearance. "Wow. You look real pretty Misty." It was like the carnival all over again. She had to mentally yell at herself for blushing. She was over him. They were just friends, just like they'd always. Nothing had changed except that she had come to terms to the fact that he didn't like her that way. There was nothing more to it.

Still she couldn't stifle that bubble of hope in her chest that maybe, just maybe he'd matured enough to notice her as a woman.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Ash Ketchum," Gary said walking down the hall, his hair slightly spiked, but somehow giving off a more refined air than usual. His suit was immaculate, fitting just right and clearly well made. "Fancy seeing you here."


	8. I Won't Dance

"Gary! What are you doing here?" Ash said, clearly shocked.

"Nice to see you too Ashy boy," Gary said, his eyebrow raised. Ash was about to explode in a tirade when Gary added with a chuckle, "I'm the official Viridian City Gym Leader."

Ash's demeanor seemed to melt and he asked with a fair amount of shock, "What? Since when?"

"I became the official leader about two months ago. I haven't officially opened the gym just yet, seeing as I had to fix it up since it was destroyed a couple of years ago," Gary said with a shrug, challenging Ash with his trademark smirk.

"It's almost done though. There are only a few rooms that we haven't painted yet and those are in the back," Misty added, hoping to show that most of the work was done.

"So that means that soon-Wait. Did you say 'we'?" Ash deduced.

Crap. Misty had accidently brought herself into this mess.

"That's right. Misty has been helping me out at my gym. We've been together quite a lot lately," Gary said draping an arm across Misty's shoulders nonchalantly.

Ash was looking at them like a Magikarp. Perhaps it was Gary's arm slung over Misty's shoulders and her not trying to remove it, not even perturbed at their position that had caused this reaction. Or maybe it was the realization that the two clearly hung out without him around. Whatever the case, Ash was frozen stiff in that rather laughable position from the shock.

"Well, I guess I'll go get my shoes and we can get going," Misty said slipping out from underneath Gary's arm with a nervous laugh and back into her room, closing the door on the boys.

"Misty!" Daisy called from across the room. "Like don't forget your necklace baby sister." Daisy held up the elegant glass necklace that she'd gotten for Misty.

"Thanks Daisy," Misty said, in a haze. She was still trying to sort out the boys in the hallway. If she hadn't needed to talk to Ash before, she certainly did now. He was likely forming all sorts of absurd theories about her and Gary's relationship. Sometimes, Misty couldn't help but think, he was more trouble than he was worth. Yet, a part of her still yearned for him and would always love him. He was her best friend after all, no matter how much the phrase cut her to her core.

Misty grabbed her silver low heeled shoes from the box Duplica was holding in her hands. As Misty slipped the shoes on her feet she couldn't help but thinking how she'd rather just be going with Duplica. Or Brock. Instead she was facing a situation which would hurt someone no matter what. If she chose Ash, Gary would ask questions. If she chose Gary, Ash would never let her hear the end of it. She was truly in a predicament.

"Knock 'em dead," Duplica said, throwing Misty a wink before sashaying into the bedroom to put the finishing touches to her makeup.

If anyone dies tonight, it will be me… Misty thought morosely.

Misty stepped out into the hall to find both boys staring heatedly at each other. Weren't they supposed to be friends now? It seemed that the boys hadn't yet broken this habit, despite their truce. Some things never change, Misty mused. The boys broke their glaring contest with each other. Gary offered Misty an arm, which Ash quickly mimicked. In a split second decision, Misty grasped both of the offered arms. It didn't solve the problem, but it delayed it for a little while. She tried to ignore the heated glances sent over her head. It was going to be a long night.

The hotel's ballroom was done up simply. The stage, where the DJ booth was, was set up with colored lights projected onto white screens. Lights flashed across the wooden dance floor where a few couples were already dancing. Tables covered in simplistic navy blue table cloths bordered the dance floor, giving the attendees a comfortable place to enjoy their refreshments or simply to talk. A few chairs were placed upon the back wall, near the exit as well.

As the trio entered the dance, Misty spotted Brock across the room. She gave a hurried excusal to her dates, making her way over her squinty eyed friend.

"Hey Misty," Brock said, enveloping her in a warm hug. "You look beautiful tonight."

"Thanks Brock," Misty said with a smile.

"Uh, what's the deal with them?" Brock said glancing at Misty's dates who were now in a heated discussion. Both were trying to keep their voices low, as though such a thing were not happening. Misty felt a painful thud as she saw Ash getting riled up. Misty had always loved the way Ash looked when he was angry. There was a reason she fought with him so much. He always had a fire that seemed to shine purest when he was in a heated battle, whether a Pokémon battle or whether he could read a map or not. Gary, being his typical self, wasn't rising to the occasion, merely replying heatedly and keeping his demeanor cool. Yet, there was something exciting about that too. He was so calm and controlled. He knew he had power, yet was able to contain it.

"I don't know. Ash just showed up at my door expecting me to be his date. Gary and I joked about going to the dance together so he showed up and now I'm here with both of them."

Misty noticed Gary walk off, leaving behind a steaming Ash. Misty noticed Ash let out a frustrated groan and noticed him walk off to May who was standing with her dad and Max.

"I don't think I can handle this if they're going to be like this all night. I feel like the rope in a game of tug of war," Misty said exasperatedly, turning back to Brock.

"Maybe Ash just figured that you wouldn't have a date. I mean you guys are best friends after all," Brock reasoned, taking a sip of his punch. "By the way, I didn't realize you and Gary were that close. Apparently you've been keeping something from me," Brock raised his eyebrow in question.

"Yea right. If I was, it wouldn't take long for you to figure it out," Misty said.

"Still," Brock said with a smirk, "I didn't know about it. Care to explain things to me or will I have to draw my own conclusions?"

"It just sort of happened. We became friends somehow over the past few months, so he offered to take me to the dance."

"I see. Well what do you say we take a spin and give them a chance to cool off for a bit?"

Misty sent an apprehensive look towards the boys in question, then turned back to Brock and accepted his arm.

After a few songs, Brock received a top on his shoulder. "May I?" someone asked. Brock stepped aside, revealing the man in question to be Rudy. As Rudy placed his hands on Misty's lower back, Misty sent a small pleading look to her tan friend's back.

"You're looking beautiful tonight, Misty," he said, regaining his dance partner's attention.

"Uh… th—thank you, Rudy," Misty replied awkwardly.

"So, if I may ask, who were you dancing with when I cut in?"

"Oh, that was Brock. We've been friends for years. His family runs the Pewter City Gym in Kanto. He, Ash, and I travelled throughout the Kanto and Johto regions together."

"Ah. I see."

There was a moment of silence where both simply moved to the music. Misty was desperate to escape the situation. It seemed as though some cosmic force was out to get her. How much more bad luck could befall on her in the expanse of one night?

"Speaking of Ash, did he ever figure out what a lucky guy he was?" Rudy asked as the next song began.

Misty was taken aback. She was unsure how to answer this loaded question. Sure the answer was obvious, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to answer. To answer honestly would give him the wrong idea and be an open invitation.

Then she heard the voice of her savior.

"I beg your pardon, but I would like a dance with my date, if you wouldn't mind," Gary said politely.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I see another has been graced instead," Rudy told Misty with a meaningful look. "I suppose it's his loss if he never did," Rudy said bestowing Misty a light peck on the cheek.

Gary quickly stepped in twirling Misty around the room to a medium-paced song. "Sorry I didn't cut in earlier. The servers here are rather persistent," Gary said, nodding to a tall red-headed woman, dressed in the hotel's uniform, talking to a lavender-haired male server near the ballroom's doors. "There's only so many times you can ask me if I'd like another hor'dourve before it's creepy."

"Don't worry about it," Misty said with a laugh. "Besides, I think he got the idea."

"That's because I always get what I want," Gary said with a presumptuous smile.

Misty let out a scoff. That self-centered streak of his was still there.

"What?" Gary asked, noticing the anger on Misty's face.

"Sometimes you're so full of yourself it's sickening," Misty said, honestly.

"You already knew that about me. You know what I think? You're attracted to hopeless cases." Misty stepped back, insulted. "Hear me out," Gary said, pulling her back to him. "You chased after Ashy-boy for years, trying to get him to like you, despite the fact that he's as thick as they come. You try and cure lover boy over there," motioning to Brock who was expressing his undying love to a tanned blonde in a short orange dress, "of his issues in approaching those of the fairer sex. Then you try and convince me that I'm not the most eligible bachelor in Kanto and that I should be more humble."

"Well it certainly wouldn't hurt you, now would it?" Misty said with a glare.

"Red, try to look at things my way. I've grown up being told I was brilliant. My grandfather is a world renowned Pokémon professor, my dad was the Pokémon Master, and my mom was a world renowned coordinator. Ash was the only person to really remind me that I wasn't all that. Think about what that does to a person."

"That doesn't mean you have to encourage that mentality," Misty said.

"Misty!" Flannery called from a table to the side of the dance floor.

"I'll let you go hang out with your new friends for a bit," Gary said, sauntering off to a table where Pryce, Watson, Blaine, and his grandfather were animatedly discussing.

Misty merely shook her head as she watched him go. She then walked to the table, admiring each of her friend's attire. Winona was dressed in a simple lavender empire waist dress that ended just above her knees, a band of white just under the bust, a layer of white tulle peeking out from underneath the satin. Her long hair floated in waves framing her heart-shaped face. Flannery was wearing a red sleeveless A-line dress with a pair of black leggings underneath. Her usually wild ponytail was tastefully fashioned into a loose knot with a soft curl at the end.

"Hey, you two look beautiful," Misty said, gushing over her friends.

"Thanks. You do too," Winona said.

"So where's Duplica?" Flannery asked glancing around the party.

Misty happened to notice that Duplica was talking to Brawly a few tables away. "I think she's a bit busy," Misty said with a giggle, nodding towards the pair.

"Would you look at that? Here for two days and she's already got her eyes on someone," Winona said, shaking her head.

"Actually I think she's had her eye on Brawly since day one," Misty said recalling Duplica's comments after meeting the bluenette.

"Well she knows what she wants at least," Flannery said with a laugh.

"Hello ladies," a blue haired man said, approaching the table. He was wearing an open, white dress jacket with a silk sky blue shirt on underneath, a pair of white slacks completing the look. "You are all looking lovely this evening if I may say."

Misty noticed Winona flinch as the man began to speak, where Flannery smiled brightly at their guest.

"Why thank you Wallace," Flannery politely said.

"I don't believe I've met you before," Wallace said taking Misty's hand.

"I'm Misty of the Cerulean City Gym," Misty said, shaking his hand.

"Ah, so you're a water trainer then? I happen to specialize in training water Pokémon myself. Which is your favorite if I may inquire?"

"I honestly don't know. I love water Pokémon in general, so it'd be difficult to pick a favorite. They're so graceful and beautiful; I don't know how I'd ever choose a favorite!" Misty gushed.

"Well said," Wallace laughed in response. "After all, there is beauty in everything. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Wallace, leader of Sootopolis Gym."

"Former," Winona said, eyeing her punch.

"Pardon?" Wallace asked, turning toward her.

"Former Gym Leader," Winona said raising her eyes from her plastic cup.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken." Wallace turned back to Misty. "You see I became the Champion of the Hoenn League a few months ago, but I have decided to abstain from the position for… personal reasons. I am a Gym Leader once again."

Winona suddenly slammed her cup on the table. "What?" she asked, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Precisely what I said. I am a Gym Leader, not the Champion," Wallace said. Winona suddenly looked as though she would burst into tears. She promptly left the ballroom, Flannery quickly following.

"Well that's not exactly how I planned on telling her…" Wallace said, gazing after her.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked, concerned for her friend.

"I don't believe it's my place to tell you. I hope you understand. But I would like to battle you sometime should the opportunity arise."

"Yea, I'd really like that. It'll be an honor fighting someone who's as strong a trainer as you. Now, if you'll excuse me," Misty said, running after her friend. She found her friends in a small couch across the lobby from the ballroom. As she approached she heard Flannery offering words of comfort, attempting to calm the troubled trainer.

"What was that all about?" Misty asked calmly, kneeling in front of her upset friend.

"He did exactly what I told him not to!" Winona said, strangling a sob and fighting back tears.

"What do you mean?" Flannery asked. Clearly she didn't know what was upsetting Winona either.

"I told him after the first month of being champion that we should break up, so he could follow his dream. Champions have a lot of responsibilities and he'd be away a lot, so there was no point in tying himself down to me. I'd hold him back, and now he's gone and thrown the title away!" Winona said.

"He cares about you, that's all. I thought it was strange when you said you'd broken up in the first place," Flannery said.

"No! I'm holding him back and now he's gone and thrown everything away! If we do get together he'll just resent me! How could he do this?" Winona said, breathing deeply, holding back angry tears.

"Just talk to him later on. Tonight's supposed to be fun. Don't let this ruin your night," Flannery said, rubbing her friend's back.

"I suppose you're right. You two go ahead. I'll join you in a minute," Winona said, wiping away a tear that had managed to escape.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Misty asked as they walked back towards the ballroom.

"Yea. She'll be fine. I think she's more shocked than anything really,"

Winona ended up joining the girls on the dance floor after a few minutes, still a little down. But, it's hard to stay upset after Cotton Eye Joe or The Time Warp.

About halfway through the night May came up to the girls. She demurely tapped on Misty's shoulder. The brunette was dressed in a yellow knee-length dress, which was form fitting at the top, but the skirt was formed by vertical ruffles of fabric; a bow laid at her lower back, completing the look.

"Misty, can I talk to you for a moment," May asked.

Misty glanced at her friends, who all looked warily at the girl.

"Sure," Misty replied, leading the coordinator off of the dance floor. The two stopped at one of the tables near the ballroom's exit. May took a deep breath and looked at the gym leader.

"Misty, I just want to let you know that I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. I'm not proud of how I handled the situation and I really should have heard your side of things before I accused you," May said, looking at Misty timidly.

Misty looked at the May admiringly. "Thanks May. I forgive you. I mean, it could have happened to anyone. And it shows that you are a good friend and you have Ash's best interests in mind."

May looked at Misty, a smile on her face. "Thanks Misty.

"By the way, Ash really does care about you, whether he voices it or not."

Misty glanced at the raven-haired trainer talking to a brunette trainer who looked eerily similar to Ash. Ash's chocolate eyes happened to catch Misty's from across the room. He gave her a small smile then turned back to his companion.

"Yea…" Misty replied absentmindedly.


	9. Because of You

May rejoined the festivities, apparently one of her friends from Littleroot was competing as well. She offered to introduce him to Misty, but she politely declined in favor of removing herself from the oppressive heat housed in the ballroom.

She drifted outside of the hotel into the brisk summer night air, a welcome relief from the sweltering heat of sweating bodies inside. Tonight had been crazy so far. It amazed Misty how in the course of a few hours her perception of her life had been thrown upside down. She'd made instant friends out of perfect strangers, angered her best friend, ran into Rudy, and fought with Gary. The stars seemed to be against her.

The stars…

Misty gazed up at the heavens, the brighter stars visible through the glare of the streetlights. There was a sense of peace that spread through her as she gazed at the distant balls of gas. It always seemed to happen to her. There was simply something magic about those distant flames twinkling at her as they floated out in space.

Perhaps the comfort originated from the many times she'd gazed at them while journeying with Ash and Brock, back when it felt like her life had a purpose and she was with the boy she loved.

Or perhaps it was because of one of Misty's fondest memories. She remembered sitting on the gym's roof with her father and sisters one evening. Her father had her in his lap while he pointed out different constellations to the girls. It wasn't really anything special, when she thought about it, yet something about that time together had stuck with her all these years. Misty liked to believe that somewhere, her parents were watching her, smiling. Ever since they'd passed away two years before she'd run away from home and inadvertently met Ash she'd sought solace from the stars. That sense of comfort they gave seemed ethereal. It didn't matter how much she fought with her sisters or how much of an idiot Ash was. Somewhere, she knew her parents were watching over her.

A warm breeze ruffled the tendrils of Misty's fiery hair. She sighed deeply, a contented smile floating on her lips. She'd lost track of time and she knew it. She could have been outside for five seconds or five hours. Yet, it didn't matter. She was too relaxed to care at that moment.

"You know, you're a pretty lousy date," Ash said a few steps behind her. Misty turned to see him, that lopsided grin making the hole in her heart ache. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't like me." His tone was playful, but Misty sensed a bit of fear hovering at the edges.

The low lighting brought out the subtle shadows of his slowly maturing features. He looked more mature in this lighting, the emerging strong jaw-line more apparent due to the heavy shadows. He also looked exhausted, like a man who's seen too much of the world, struggling to make it through the day. Yet, his eyes held that same sparkle, that inextinguishable fire that had drawn her to him in the first place.

"I've missed you, Ash," Misty said scarcely above a whisper.

"Well," Ash said taking slow steps towards her as though she were a wild Pokémon, about to run at the slightest wrong move, "you certainly have a funny way of showing it."

"I know. I'm sorry about that."

Ash turned to her a shocked look on his face. "What?"

"I said I'm sorry."

"I must be hearing things, Mist. I thought I heard you say that you were sorry, but I know that you would never say that," he said a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Misty giggled. "Well believe it mister Pokémon Master."

Ash's eyes widened. "Oh no," he said in horror. "The world is coming to an end! I'm too young to die! I've so much left to live for! So many battles I've yet to win! So much of Brock's cooking I've yet to eat! It just can't end this way!"

Misty laughed in spite of herself. "Quit being so melodramatic."

Ash paused. "What does melodramatic mean?" he asked with childish innocence.

Misty simply shook her head, stifling a giggle. "Anyway, I'm sorry that I've been ignoring you all night. I really have missed you," Misty said.

"I've missed you too Mist," Ash said reaching out and pulling her into a hug. "I've missed you a lot," he murmured into her hair, "practically every day even."

His words sent her heart soaring. Yet, in the back of her mind she told herself that he missed her friendship and advice. He didn't like her that way and that was something that she had to accept.

"I wish you were still with us. That you didn't have to stuck in Cerulean," Ash murmured into her hair, his warm breath tickling the loose strands around her ear.

"Me too. But," Misty said, "maybe it's for the best. Maybe this was meant to happen. Maybe we needed this."

Ash pulled away to stare at the girl in his arms. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe this time apart will help us grow up. I mean, that's part of growing up right? People come and go, things change. It's how you deal with those comings and goings and changes that make you who you are right? It's not what either of us wanted, but it may be what we needed.

"I was getting too used to our routines and was slowly losing sight of my dreams. I think it may have been for the best that I left when I did."

"Sorry for being such a burden to you," Ash said venom laced in his voice.

"That's not what I meant Ash and you know it."

"Oh really? Then what did you mean?"

The two stared heatedly at each other. Should she tell him? Could she tell him?

"I don't want to lose you Mist. You going away is one of the worst things that's happened to me. I kept wondering what would happen if we started drifting. But, we talked so often I knew that wouldn't happen, but then I can't reach you for a month and here you are with Gary!"

"What does Gary have to do with anything?" Misty asked.

"I won't lose you to him, Mist! I won't! You're mine. You're my best friend."

"This isn't some contest, Ash. I'm not a prize to be won."

Misty stormed off down the sidewalk needing to get away from her so called best friend. She made her way to the water fountain where she deposited her heels on the wall, staring into the depths of the water. She stared at her wavy reflection in the water and felt tears pricking at her eyes.

How dare he. How dare he! She shattered the reflection with her hand in frustration. Angry tears threatened to spill. She rose and paced angrily while her mind flooded with the turbulent ideas.

How dare he think that he had a right to tell her who she could hang out with. How dare he come back after ditching her for May and think he had any right to criticize her for hanging out with Gary! Who did he think he was? The earth didn't revolve around him. She had a right to be around whomever she chose and Gary was a great guy. She had just made friends with her supposed best friend's rival, it wasn't like she was going to become a member of Team Rocket or anything ridiculous like that.

Sure, Gary was gorgeous and a bit of a pervert, but nothing she couldn't handle, after all, her sisters were the Sensational Sisters. She'd been dealing with pervs for years now due to them, granted most of them weren't perverts towards her, but she had to get rid of them all the same.

As the wave of anger towards Ash ebbed a bit, the deeper sadness that she kept bottled up rose to the surface due to her unstable emotional state. It was a sadness that she rarely acknowledged. Her mother and father had abandoned her, granted it wasn't by choice as they died in a car accident during a snowstorm coming back from the Indigo Plateau when Misty was 10. But that didn't take away the gaping hole she felt in their absence. There was so much that they had missed…

And she hated who her sisters had become after her parents' passing. They threw themselves into fashion and modeling, filling the hole with makeup and their water ballets. Because they were older they had the power to escape, to do what they wanted with their lives. Misty had always resented that. They cut themselves off from anything to do with their parents, ready to leave the gym in the dust if it meant forgetting, at least, that was how Misty viewed it.

She missed her parents dreadfully. She needed them. She wanted to confess to her mother how much she liked Ash and how much she hurt right now, to have her mother take her into her arms and stroke her hair while she cried. She wanted to hear her dad tell her that Ash would pay for hurting her, knowing that he wouldn't unless she actually asked. There was a certain comfort that only a parent can give the sort that no friend no matter how well they understood you can give.

She missed the comfort of their arms, voices, and scents. Misty's mother had always smelt of citrus and an ever underlying scent of chlorine. Her father had been an ice trainer and seemed to carry that scent of freshly fallen snow with him wherever he went.

It was at this moment, she thought she could smell them in the summer night air, as strange as that sounded. It almost felt like they were with her. It eased her troubled spirit slightly, reminded her that she was getting better. She was finally able to be mad at Ash. She wasn't miserable all the time anymore, wasn't sad about him, or wallowing in her pathetic self pity. Compared to where she was three months ago, she had made considerable improvement. And no matter how much Ash hated it, Gary had helped her and been there for it when she needed him the most. Sure, he pissed her off by being a bit of an asshole, but she knew that was going to happen before she even deemed being social to him. It was part of the package. She wouldn't trade him just because she considered beating the crap out of him every now and then. Besides, Ash could infuriate her in just as many ways.

She glared at the fountain spewing water. Ash. At first she calmed, thinking of her best friend, but she shortly remembered their heated encounter, angered again by his presumptuous attitude towards her. Best friend was supposed to be a title of respect, earned, not given lightly. He certainly wasn't living up to the title. His behavior felt like a slap to the face, demeaning the title of honor she had bestowed upon him. How dare he assume that she would be a constant. Any relationship, friendship or otherwise, took work from both parties. It was unjust of him to assume that he had a right to her, to tell her what she should and could do with her life.

"Misty?" a voice asked behind her. She turned towards the source, spotting a male figure shrouded in the darkness, standing just outside the light of the courtyard. "Are you alright?"

Squinting, she recognized the cinnamon spikes of the figure. "I don't want to talk to you right now, Gary," Misty said, turning away from him. She knew that she couldn't trust herself with how unpredictable her emotions were right now. A stab of anger at the male in question rose within her, recalling their conversation earlier in the night. If he stayed, she knew she wouldn't be able to control her temper.

"Keeping things inside doesn't make them go away," Gary said.

"I'm not keeping them bottled up!" she snapped. She violently turned back towards him. If he'd been closer she might have slapped him.

"Then why won't you talk about it? You never talk about yourself, Misty. You keep everyone out. You put up a wall around yourself, but that just makes it fester. I had to see you break down before you even admitted you had a problem!"

"What would you know? I've had to deal with my sisters flaking on their responsibilities with the gym. I had to give up what I loved to keep the one thing my parents left us from falling apart! I always have to give shit up but no one else has to! I've had to scrounge to get the gym back up after my sisters nearly ran it into the ground! No one cares about my problems, my needs." Misty stormed towards him.

"I care, or have you forgotten everything we've been through in the past few months? I've stayed with you when you're at your lowest."

"Don't strain yourself," Misty said with a glower.

"I didn't have to do that for you. I didn't have to care. I have plenty of things I could have been doing with my life. I could have been doing my research, working on my gym. Heck, I could have been going on dates with girls who actually appreciated my time."

"You're right. No one made you. You're so busy and have stuff worth doing. So why? Why? Why did you bother when you have such a busy schedule?" Misty asked.

"Because I hated seeing you like that. He killed your spirit. How could I ignore that? I know I can be an asshole, but I'm not heartless." Gary paused. "And, believe it or not, I enjoyed your company."

"What?"

"I said, I enjoy your company."

"I enjoy being around you too," she said hesitantly. Misty felt a flush growing on her cheeks. It was strange, feeling this rush of embarrassment and happiness at the same time. She suddenly felt extremely shy around Gary, something she had never felt before.

"So, what were you so upset about?" Gary asked pulling her to the fountain to sit.

"Ash was just being immature and I was fed up with it, that's all," Misty replied, trying to hide her blush.

"Ashy-boy immature? Somebody stop the presses," Gary replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Crazy, right?" Misty replied with a laugh.

"He seemed pretty steamed when I passed him in the hotel." He paused for a moment, looking at his date. "Want to talk about it?" Gary asked, glancing at her.

"No. Actually I don't. For once, I don't want to talk or even think about him and I don't care if he's talking or thinking about me," she sincerely replied, her embarrassment alleviated. It felt like a weight had been lifted by admitting that.

"Are you the same girl I watched have a breakdown a couple months ago?" Gary asked.

"No. I'm not. And it's wonderful. I hated myself and now, thanks to you, I'm learning to love myself again."

"I know. I'm amazing like that," Gary said. Misty nudged him playfully.

"Don't let that go to your head," Misty said with a smirk.

"Far too late for that."


	10. Strange Waters

Misty awoke to the shrill screech of the hotel alarm clock. She shifted to see that it was still dark outside. She had awoken early, 6am to be precise, in hopes of going for a swim, which she hadn't done in several days, and allowing her Pokémon a chance to warm-up so that they were awake and attentive whenever she battled.

The previous day had been an emotional roller coaster for Misty and she was hoping to start this exciting day off right. As she left her "room" in her swimsuit she spotted Duplica snoring on the pullout couch. Duplica's hair had returned to its natural tight curl during the night, her dress from the night before fanned out around her and her heels still remained on her feet, which dangled over the side of the bed. Misty pulled the blanket over her unconscious friend before grabbing her card-key and heading down to the pool housed in the training center at the stadium.

Misty mind was restless as she glided through the water. So many things seemed to have changed in such a short amount of time, it was overwhelming. Gary, Ash, Winona and Wallace, and the tournament. It was a lot of pressure all at once. A small voice in the back of Misty's mind told her that Ash would not forgive her easily for her harsh words the night before. But as Misty felt the cool water around her, she felt reassured. She could do this. She had handled far worse before this and came out on top. After all, she'd saved her gym from certain destruction due to her sisters' inattentiveness and forgetful natures during which she suffered crippling heartbreak. Somehow, despite all of the financial strains and immense pressure, she'd managed to not only get the gym back on its feet, but had raised it to one of the highest ranking gyms in Kanto for the past several months. It hadn't been easy, but she'd succeeded exceeding anyone's expectations. If she could do that, surely she could handle this.

At 7am, Misty clambered out of the pool feeling refreshed and prepared to take on the day ahead. It was the ultimate way to start the day, Misty thought. The endorphins boosted her mood and her body was wide awake from the well-rounded workout. She felt confident, alive, and thankful that she'd had the sense to get there as early as she had. As she dried herself off, she noticed bleary-eyed competitors arriving, some already in the pool. The lanes were quickly filling up. She spotted Cissy on the other side of the pool and waved at the Orange Island Gym Leader, but Misty decided that she had better hustle to ensure she had time to work with her Pokémon before more awoke; there would be time to socialize later.

After some training and feeding her Pokémon, Misty headed back to the hotel. It was now 8:30 and the hotel's foyer was beginning to bustle with life. Deciding to save a bit of time, Misty managed to purchase a coffee for her and Gary at the hotel's coffee shop before the line got terribly long, knowing the brunette would need a morning pick-me-up. She headed up to his room and knocked on the door, still wrapped in her towel.

The door was thrown open, revealing the frightening, sleepy Gary which Misty had only encountered once before. Hoping to appease him, she held the steaming caffeinated beverage before her as a peace offering. He swiped the cup from her hand and downed it in what seemed to be a single gulp, which was impressive seeing as it was the largest size the hotel coffee shop offered. As the coffee began to work its magic, Gary began to take in Misty's appearance.

"So the mermaid decided to come on land?" he said noting her attire.

"Sometimes the necessity of feet outweighs the joy of fins," Misty said, glad to have her wit ready while his was still waking up. "Now, if you'll excuse me I need to freshen up. As much as I love battling in my swimsuit, I don't think the officials will approve for the opening ceremony."

"Eh, let them think what they want. Since when did you start caring about what other people think?"

"I just think I need to be properly dressed for the opening ceremony, seeing as its being televised," Misty said, starting for the end of the hall.

Gary quickly wrapped his arms around her, keeping her there. "What if I don't want you to go?"

Misty was frozen, her heart pounding in her chest, her cheeks flushing a light pink. Well that was something rather revealing to admit.

"Gary, I reek of chlorine. If I promise to come back, can I go shower and get ready?"

"On one condition," he said nuzzling his nose into her damp hair.

"What is it?" she asked, instantly leery of his terms.

"Tonight, we hang out. Just you and me," he said.

"Why?"

"I just want to hang out with you."

"We hung out last night."

"And despite what you may say I know Ashy-boy was the only thing on your mind."

She couldn't really deny it. Despite not wanting to think about him, Ash had still been the forefront of her thoughts the previous night. But, she figured that there could be far worse things Gary could have requested. Heck, she had half figured he would request a sexual favor. If a night of casually hanging out with him was his chosen condition, she would gladly take it. She enjoyed being around him anyway.

"Fine. Deal," she grumbled.

"Alright, I'll see you a bit," he said, giving her a peck on the cheek, before releasing her and reentering his room, leaving a rather stunned Misty alone in the hallway.

He'd kissed her. Granted it was just a chaste kiss on the cheek, but still, he'd kissed her! It seems her day had just gotten more complicated.

As Misty entered the hotel room she was greeted by a groggy Duplica forcing herself off of the bed, a wrinkle from the sheets pressed into her face.

"Well good morning sleepy head," Misty said tossing her damp towel into the bathroom to be dealt with in a moment. She received a mumbled incoherent response. "That good of a night?"

"Mock me all you want. Brawley is interested. So what about you and your friend with benefits?" Duplica said removing her heels at last.

"We're not friends with benefits! We're just friends!"

"No matter how many times you say you're 'just friends' doesn't change the reality of the matter. You guys are more than friends, but not quite in a relationship."

"What? There's no relationship to be had."

Duplica stopped removing her makeup to stare at her friend. "Misty, do you like him?"

"As a friend, yes."

"So you're not at all attracted to him in any way? You don't think he has nice eyes, hair, find yourself staring wistfully at his ass? Wait, everyone does that because he's the most eligible bachelor in Kanto. Ok, you don't think he's really funny and understands you in a way you weren't sure anyone ever could?"

"I have to get ready, Duplica. See you later," Misty said as she disappeared into the bathroom.

"I see how it is. Disappear into the bathroom to avoid the conversation. You can't hide from this forever," Duplica called in a playful tone.

/

As promised, Misty met up with Gary and the two Kanto gym leaders walked through the crowded plaza towards the looming stadium. Beautiflies swarmed in Misty's stomach as she thought about how the day was finally here. The competition was really starting. After a month of anxious anticipation and excitement it was finally here. She could finally show what she was truly capable of. A small twinge of doubt made her question whether she would be able to live up to the expectations she set for herself. She wanted so badly to prove herself, to take a step towards her dream of being the ultimate water Pokémon trainer.

There was a comfortable silence that reigned between Misty and Gary, both caught up in their own thoughts. Misty's reverie was disturbed when a man inadvertently ran into her while carrying a large box.

"Oh excuse me miss! I'm terribly sorry," the man said in a raspy voice as he helped Misty up from the ground.

"Hey!" an angry blonde called from across the plaza by the stadium's service door. "Get over here with that this instant. You know we're in a hurry!"

The blue haired man uttered a string of curses, and then turned to Misty again. "Terribly sorry again miss."

"That's alright. No harm done," Misty said.

"You want a hand with that? It looks pretty heavy," Gary asked, noting the man's legs shaking under the weight of the large box.

"No!" the blue haired man shouted nearly dropping his cargo. "Uh, I mean no. Thank you. But, uh, I've got it. It was nice of you to offer though," The man grunted, hauling his cargo towards the service entrance as quickly as his legs could carry him.

"Alright..." Misty said unsurely, the two trainers continuing their walk to the stadium as well.

"I hope you didn't damage anything," the blonde said as the man approached.

"It should be fine," he grumbled.

"It better be. Just get it inside," the woman said in a forceful whisper.

/

A blast of music blared through the speakers, playing the Pokémon League's theme song, silencing the audience that crowded the stadium's bleachers. Lance came out to the center of the field. "Welcome one and all, from both here at the Indigo Plateau to wherever you may be viewing this competition. We here at the Pokémon League are very excited to bring you this competition, crossing region lines and bringing all of these trainers together, bounded by one thing, their love of Pokémon battling.

"We have trainers from Kanto, the Orange Islands, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova regions. We have trainers who specialize in certain Pokémon types to those who are known for their Pokémon type variety. For about the next week we will be placing these trainers who have shown their skill in the battlefield against each other to see who the top trainer is. We're looking forward to seeing these trainers showing off their skills.

"Now, most of our competitors here today are gym leaders throughout the regions, each having proven their skills in the battlefield, able to test hopeful trainers, preparing them for their ultimate challenge. So why would we bring these trainers who have already been tested and tried by the League itself? Our gym leaders battle every day of the week. They have encountered a multitude of battling styles and have learned to adapt to them. They are used to working within the League's restraints. Now, they are being allowed to show their true potential, abiding by a limited amount of rules, allowing them to show everyone just what they can do.

"I know that I'm very excited to get this competition started and I know all of our competitors are as well. So enough of me talking, let's get our competitors out here and see what our first match will be! But, while we bring them out, we have a special treat for you today. We have Kanto's own, award winning Sensational Sisters here to start this tournament off right!"

The crowd cheered in excitement and thousands of cameras flashed as Misty's sisters came out in their brightly colored dresses and began their special number. The competitors filed out of the entrance while the girls sang their song, the crowd cheering especially loud, the trainers finally coming to rest in their march, lined behind the Kanto and Johto Champions. The girls finished up their song and took a bow to the cheering fans.

"Thank you ladies! For those interested they will be performing a special show Wednesday night. Now, the first round of this tournament will be a team battle. Teams have been chosen at random and our first competition will be..." Lance said turning to the jumbo screen on the wall of the stadium, the faces of the competitors appearing on it. "There you have it folks. The first battle of our tournament will be Morty and Surge against Roxanne and Erica. These competitors have already been alerted of the battle and are prepared. Now, who will be competing after them? We have Bugsy and Ritchie against Misty and Gary! Those competitors have an hour to discuss should they need it. Now let's get going!"

/

"Misty!" Violet called as she spotted her youngest sister walking down the hall on her way to the green room.

"Hey! You guys were great out there."

"Like thanks baby sister!" Lily said, hugging Misty. "So like are you going to see our show on Wednesday?"

"Uh... I might. It depends on how well I do in the competition," Misty said.

"Well you like totally should. It's going to be totally awesome!" Violet said.

"Cha, and we have a special treat so you like have to come," Lily added.

"I'll do my best to be there, alright?" Misty said.

"'Kay! Break a leg! We'll be cheering for you," Lily said.

Misty waved down the hall at her sisters as they disappeared around the corner. As she turned to continue her walk down the hallway, the blonde from earlier ran into her. "Oh, sorry," Misty said.

"Watch where you're going brat," the blonde said, her long pigtails bouncing as she continued on her way.

"What a bitch," Misty muttered as she entered the green room.

"Who is?" Gary asked, reclining on one of the chairs, tearing his eyes from the screen mounted on the wall.

"That blonde from earlier. She just ran into me in the hallway, literally," Misty said plopping down next to Gary.

"Chill Misty. We have a battle soon," Gary said turning back to the screen where the battle was starting.

"I didn't realize Ritchie was even here," Misty said, thinking about their upcoming battle. "I'm nervous. He certainly will have the advantage over me."

"What did I just say, Red? Chill. Everything will be fine."

"How can you be so calm?"

"Because I know that you're better than you're giving yourself credit for. Besides, I'm battling. What could possibly go wrong?" he asked with a smirk. "Now just relax and watch the battle, will you?"

Misty wasn't sure how she felt about the little pep talk Gary had just given. Yet, she still felt reassured. He was very straight and to the point and even had time to lighten the mood with his cocky attitude all in that snippet of conversation. Just because Ritchie's favored Pokémon, Sparky, had an advantage over her's didn't guarantee him the battle. She'd overcome those things in a battle before. Besides, she wasn't alone, she had Gary, and he had a wide variety of Pokémon. Granted Bugsy did specialize in... bugs. But, she comforted herself in the fact that she would not have to touch them and her Pokémon would keep her safe from the disgusting beasts. Misty took a deep, reassuring breath and glanced at her partner.

They could do this.

/

"What a close match! But, Morty and Surge advance to the next round! While our upcoming competitors take the field let's find out who will compete after them. Our upcoming battle will be Crystal and Winona against Luana and Norman. Now, for the second battle of our tournament!"

Misty and Gary stepped out onto the field to the sound of cheering fans riled up from the previous battle. "Ready for this, Red?" Gary asked waving out at the spectators.

"Yea, I think I am," Misty said, excitement escaping into her voice.

"Hey Misty!" Ritchie called from the opposite side of the arena. "Long time no see!"

"Hey Ritchie! It's a shame our reunion has to start with a battle, but don't think I'll go easy on you just because we're friends," Misty said holding her first Pokeball in her hand.

"I'd be ashamed to call you my friend if you did. Give it your all," Ritchie shouted giving her a thumbs up.

"Competitors release your Pokémon!" the referee called.

The four balls were thrown to the center of the field and released flooding the arena with their light. As the light faded Misty recognized a Scisor and a Taillow on the opposing side, while Gary's Golem stood next to Misty's Starmie.

"Begin!" the referee cried waving flags of both team colors.


	11. The First Cut Is The Deepest

The match was passing by in a blur of color, rushed commands, and adrenaline. Meanwhile, two Kanto competitors stood in the bleachers watching their friends battle.

"Misty is battling really well today. She's improved a lot," the Pewter City gym leader said to his friend as Misty's Corsola landed a critical hit on Heracross.

"Yea, I guess," Ash said morosely, averting his eyes from the ensuing battle.

"You're still in a funk? I thought you'd lightened up a bit once the battling started." Ash didn't respond. "Well, you must be excited to see Misty again. You scarcely talked about anything else since you heard about this tournament."

"Things change," Ash said, glancing at his former rival, his body tensing subtly. He then averted his eyes and sat down in a huff.

Brock laughed. "You two fought already? Ha. Some things never change."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked sending a glare at the tanned breeder.

"Just that you two can't help but fight. No matter how happy you two are to see each other, you fight. It's just how you seem to relate to each other."

"So, this is just some fight? Just us over-reacting?" he asked disgruntled, the bill of his cap covering his eyes.

"I don't know. You tell me. Is it worth being mad at her for the short amount of time we're all together?" Brock asked before returning his attention to the battle.

"Spike Cannon!" Misty called.

"Quick attack!" Gary cried.

Bugsy's Pupitar and Ritchie's Pikachu, Sparky, both fainted, leaving Corsola and Umbreon panting on the field, victorious.

/

Misty, Gary, Duplica, Flannery, and Winona were having lunch in the plaza outside of the Pokémon League Stadium. The group was talking excitedly about Gary and Misty's victory. Gary was soaking up the praise from all of the passing females who were more than happy to congratulate him on his victory. Eventually talk turned to the upcoming battles.

"I'm so nervous! W-what if I blow it? I'm just now starting to get things right. What if they take the gym away? I would be a disgrace to my grandfather if that happened. And even worse, my failure would be televised. Everyone in the surrounding regions would know just how badly I blew it!" Flannery babbled nervously. Flannery was a bit of a puzzle to Misty at times. Most of the time she seemed so confident, yet she clearly housed strong insecurities.

"Flannery, calm down. You'll be fine. Just relax and enjoy the battle whenever it happens. That's all you can really do. Freaking out about it won't make any better. And you know your grandfather would love you, regardless of the outcome. Besides, they won't take away the gym. They know you're working really hard and are newer to being a leader," Winona calmly explained, clearly used to dealing with such outbursts.

"How do you know?" Flannery cried, jostling her best friend, making her drop her lunch.

"I am the representative of the Hoenn League. I understand how the League works. You'll be fine. And I knew your grandfather. He just wanted you to do your best and go after your dreams. You know that. Now, I think you owe me a new lunch."

Flannery laughed nervously. "Oh, yea. I'll go get you another one of those…" she said before running to the other side of the plaza.

"Why is she so worried about the League taking away her gym?" Duplica asked.

"She inherited the gym from her grandfather and she hasn't quite figured out how to make the position her own and forget about the pressure," Winona explained picking up her ruined lunch as best as she could.

"It's a lot of pressure to run a gym, especially when you have a family name to maintain. I understand what she's going through," Misty said, taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Misty!" Brock called, Ash plodding behind him. "Great battle. You too Gary. I must say, I'm surprised you guys were able to work so well together."

"We've been training together lately," Gary said.

"We really lucked out being paired together," Misty said with a grin.

"It would have been great had I not been carrying the team. You know you only won because of me," Gary replied with a devious smirk.

"As if! I saved your ass plenty of times last battle!" Misty retaliated.

"That's only because my amazing battling skills have started to rub off on you."

"Whatever. We won and that's all that matters in the end."

"Granted, it's hard not to win with me battling."

"I seem to recall beating you several times," Ash mentioned with a hard gaze, stopping the comeback Misty had just been about to voice.

"Well," Gary said turning his attention to his ebony-haired childhood friend and rival, "those losses never really mattered. Let's face it, when it matters, I don't lose."

Misty looked back and forth between the two boys. The tension was palpable. It was apparent to her that Ash hadn't forgiven her yet. Sure, Ash over-reacted a lot, but Misty couldn't help but notice that he had yet to say a word to her, let alone spare her a look. Any time he was mad at her, he could go blow off some steam and be willing to make amends. They usually never stayed mad at each other for more than a few hours, at least regarding one topic. This blatant defiance of their norm concerned Misty. It made her wonder if she should apologize.

Granted, this wasn't some inconsequential spat about who the better trainer was or how badly Ash read maps. This fight actually meant something. She had meant what she said the previous night. But, it felt wrong to have Ash mad at her. It didn't matter how much he had hurt her, he was still her best friend. Just because she was finally doing what it took to move on, didn't mean she had to sever all ties with him. She still wanted him in her life. But, he had to understand that her life didn't revolve around him anymore. But, old habits are the hardest to kick and right now Misty was wrestling with her's.

The boys finally broke their staring contest. Ash shot a betrayed glance at Misty before storming off. He paused before Brock where Misty thought she heard him say, "It is worth it, this time," before leaving the food court.

"What was that all about?" Winona asked.

"Nothing," Gary said nonchalantly.

Flannery came running up to the group, Winona's new lunch in her hands. "They were all out of the Swiss, so I got you Pepper Jack instead. Woh… what did I miss?" Flannery asked picking up on the remaining tension.

"Wait… Pepper Jack? Flannery, how many times have I told you I hate Pepper Jack?" Winona asked, trying to restrain her frustration.

"Uh, Misty, could I talk to you for a minute, that is, if these beautiful ladies don't mind?" Brock asked, flashing a wink to Winona in particular, who happened to be too busy berating her friend to notice.

"Sure Brock," Misty said grabbing Brock's ear as they walked away from the group.

"Ow. Do you have to be so rough, Misty?" Brock said, nursing his injured ear. Misty sighed, shaking her head. "Fine, I get it. Can't blame a guy for trying."

"I think you'll find I can."

Brock chuckled nervously. "Anyways, what was with Ash just now? I'm not sure I've ever seen him this upset over something."

Misty's features hardened. "It was Ash being a spoiled little brat."

"Now, now Misty. I'm sure he has a good reason, I'm just trying to figure out what that might be."

"A good reason?" Misty asked incredulously. "A good reason for snapping at me for having my own life? Is there ever a good reason for accusing your supposed best friend for having a life outside of them?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's the one who started all of this! He brought it all on himself! I don't have to apologize, because for once I'm doing something with my life that has nothing to do with him! It's my life! I can be friends with Gary if I want to!"

"Wait, this whole fight is about Gary?" Brock asked.

"No! It's because Ash can't accept that I have friends outside of him that have absolutely nothing to do with him!" Misty yelled.

Brock sat and pondered this new information.

Meanwhile, Misty was coming back to the low part of her emotional roller coaster. All the doubts she'd had while Ash and Gary had confronted each other only a few minutes before came rushing back full force. Could she deal with having Ash absent from her life? He wasn't going to let this fight go very easily. He had made that quite clear. It seemed he wasn't leaving her any choice in the matter. Yet, she knew she was right. This time she wouldn't be the one to apologize. She shouldn't have to just because he always got what he wanted. But…

"Brock…" Misty said timidly a few minutes after she'd fallen silent, breaking the breeder out of his reverie. "What if he never forgives me?"

She felt the ache in her chest start up again. She liked being a constant in Ash's life, even if he was constantly in another region. There was a good chance this fight would change things drastically and despite the fact that Misty knew she needed to make some changes in her life, but she never thought that cutting Ash out of her life completely was even an option to be considered. It had started consuming her thoughts. What if they didn't make up? What if he refused to see that she had a right to be upset?

"He'll come around, Misty," Brock said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"But what if he doesn't?" Misty asked, unshed tears building up behind her eyes, asking the millions of questions Misty was too proud to ever voice aloud.

"Don't worry about the 'what ifs.' This is one of those times when it's better to just let things play out the way they're supposed to. Worrying won't change anything. It will only make you more miserable."

"Brock, I'm scared."

"Don't be. Everything will work out. You'll see."

/

Jessie stumbled out into the alley from the service entrance, her uniform askew and covered in food stains. "Uh, that woman has no fashion sense. She didn't have to be so sensitive when I told her as much."

"Jessie, we need to keep dese jobs to keep our cova. You can't go letting ya yap run like dat!" Meowth said.

"It's not my fault she couldn't take constructive criticism."

"Hm… This is turning out even better than expected," James said as he watched Brock and Misty from his spot at the mouth of the alley beside the hotel.

"What is?" Jessie asked.

"Yea. You mean da fact dat Jessie is going to blow our cova or da fact dat we haven't gotten near da Pokémon yet?" Meowth asked facetiously.

"I mean the twerps are falling apart at the seams. With them so distracted, now's our time to strike!" James elaborated.

"That's right! I'd nearly forgotten about the twerps!" Jessie said.

"But foist ting's foist. We needs ta figure out how to get inta da stadium."

"He's right. We've been here several days and we're still no closer to getting inside that place than we were when we started," James said, visibly deflating.

"Oh ye of little faith," Jessie said. "I happen to have gotten a key from one of those boneheaded guards."

"How did ya manage dat, Jessie?"

"Never underestimate power of manipulation a woman has at her control," Jessie said, flippantly waving her hand through the air. "Now let's go catch some Pokémon!"

"Yes! Then the boss will finally like us!" James squealed.

"And I'll finally be da top Meowth!" Meowth said dreamily.

The trio snuck towards the stadium through the crowd. Jessie unlocked the service entrance with the key she had acquired and snuck inside. "So what exactly are we looking for?" James asked as they made their way through the maze of corridors.

"The Pokémon Center of course. They're required to have one here considering all of the Pokémon that are competing," Jessie explained.

"Surely not all of da competitors will leave dere Pokémon dere dough," Meowth reasoned.

"Don't you nitwits know anything? All competitors are required to leave their Pokémon at the Center for several hours a day to make sure they stay healthy under the harsh battle conditions," Jessie said.

"But Pokémon Centers only hire Nurse Joys and Chanseys," James said.

"You think I don't know that?" Jessie snapped.

"Den why are we looking for da Pokémon Center, Jessie?" Meowth asked.

Jessie was about to respond when the trio rounded a corner they running into a cart, spilling a fair amount of its contents onto the ground. "Watch where you're going you imbecile!" Jessie screeched.

"You're one to talk nitwit," a blonde woman countered back.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. You aren't hurt are you?" another woman asked, which the trio quickly recognized as Nurse Joy.

"We're alright," James replied.

"Well that's a relief. I hope the medicine is all okay," Nurse Joy said checking the boxes that lay scattered across the floor.

"Yes, It would be such a shame if any of it was ruined on account of a silly accident," Nurse Joy's companion replied, picking up stray pieces of gauze.

"Ah, yes. We're sorry about all of the trouble we've caused you. We wouldn't want any of those Pokémon to be hurt because of our clumsiness," Jessie said with a bright smile, her voice higher than usual.

"You better be going. It'd be a shame for you to miss any of the action, don't you think?" the blonde asked the trio, her voice dripping with venom.

"Actually, we had some business with Nurse Joy, if you'd be so kind to excuse us," Jessie shot back, her voice still falsely sweet.

"Very well. I really had to be going anyway. It was nice to see you, Nurse Joy!" the blonde called as she sauntered down the hallway.

"She looked familiar," James said absently.

"Never mind about her," Jessie said with a growl. "Oh Nurse Joy! Could I have a word with you for a few minutes?"

"Well, I don't see why not," Nurse Joy said with a demure smile.


	12. A Rendezvous And A Dispute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is still currently under hiatus.

Misty awoke to the familiar screech of the alarm clock. She fumbled attempting to turn the offensive noise off. Misty pried her eyes open to locate the elusive device but couldn't locate it on the bedside. She was reluctant to leave the cocoon of blankets to search for the alarm, yet she had a nagging feeling that she should find it but, not because it was disruptive to her sleep. She just couldn't place why she felt she should search for it and silence it as soon as possible.

And then she heard a loud thump followed by the sound of plastic skidding across the nightstand, the siren of the alarm silenced. Misty jumped at the sudden sound. The warmth around her increased marginally, a comfortable pressure enveloping her. She instinctively leaned into the warmth.

Suddenly, realization dawned on her. The sheets she was wrapped in were silk and the bed was plush, unlike in her room where she made do with starched sheets and an almost too firm mattress. It was then she realized that she wasn't in her hotel room, but Gary's. Why was she in Gary's?

Misty's mind raced at a mile a minute, trying to recall the night before. She didn't drink anything. There had been no wild parties that she could recall. Oh yes, she had agreed to hang out with Gary for the evening.

Wait… Okay, all clothing is in its appropriate place.

"Mmm. What time is it?" Misty mumbled now that she had gained her bearings.

"Too early," was the gruff reply mumbled into her shoulder blades.

"What time is it, Gary?" Misty asked again.

"Why does it matter? We don't compete today. We can just stay in bed and sleep."

It sounded nice. It sounded inviting. Logic told her that people would gossip, that Ash would be furious when he found out, that her friends would worry when she didn't show up right away. But, her body told her to stay. It was comfortable here. She could just stay in bed with Gary and enjoy this little slice of time where she didn't… Where she didn't have to… Hm… Warm…

/

The night before had gone much like any other: a lot of joking and a few moments of seriousness. Gary mentioned that his sister, May, was planning on joining him as the contest progressed.

Misty stood in the hallway before Gary's door. She was dressed in her typical pajamas, a complimentary hotel robe wrapped around her, to keep the hotel's frigid air conditioning from overly affecting her. Part of her was excited to be spending her evening with Gary. Sure, her new friends were great, but it had been awhile since the two and hung out alone, nearly a month, now that Misty thought about it.

The day had been fairly exciting. Winona had done well in her battle and advanced to the next round, though it was a close battle. Brock had competed in the final battle of the day. Misty was sure his round would have started smoother had he not been so distracted by battling with Jasmine as his partner. It had been a difficult battle, but Jasmine's Steelix saved the day. May had seemed rather torn in her cheering between Brock and a boy on the opposite side with a white hat, though Misty didn't dwell on the thought.

Ash still wasn't talking to her. When they'd returned to the stadium after lunch, he'd seated himself as far away as he could from her in the competitor's seating area, next to Norman towards the very front. Something seemed off about him, Misty had realized, as he happened to be within her line of vision. He wasn't himself. He wasn't even paying attention to the battle, and Ash loved battles, whether he competed or not. Moments that caused the crowd to gasp and cheer left him completely unaffected. It was as though he wasn't seeing the battle at all. Past that though, she hadn't really seen much of him.

Misty was startled out of her reverie by Gary opening the hotel door and beckoning her inside. His room was considerably larger than the one Duplica and she shared. It was still a hotel room, but clearly one of a considerable higher class. The couch looked softer than the usual hotel couch, microfiber in a neutral taupe, the cabinetry in the kitchen was made of mahogany with a sizeable granite breakfast bar. Large stained mahogany doors led to a lushly designed sleeping area, decorated with deep red satin curtains and sheets.

Misty spun around the room, her feet sinking into the plush carpet. "You have this whole place to yourself?"

"Heh. Yeah. For now at least. Assuming I do well in the tournament, May might be coming and staying with me as the tournament progresses." Gary said, leaning against the wall, a smirk lingering on his lips.

"Your sister?" Misty asked, facing him.

"Yea. Once she shows up, there won't be room for me."

Misty chuckled, settling into the couch. It was even more comfortable than she'd thought it would be. She couldn't fight the contented smile that rose to her lips as she surrendered herself to the couch from heaven. "High maintenance?"

"Well, she's not as bad as your sisters, but she certainly rivals them. Seriously, how do you stand them? May is bad enough, but you have three sisters that are all worse than May."

"I'm a saint," Misty said with a straight face. "It comes with the territory."

"A saint? As if! You're too hot headed to be a saint! Not to mention the lack of a miracle or any overwhelming virtues." Gary scoffed, plopping down beside her.

Misty playfully smacked Gary's arm. "I'm virtuous! I am self-sacrificing."

"When it suits you."

"I'm strong in the face of adversity!"

"As long as there are no bugs around."

"I am honest."

"When you're not lying."

"And if putting up with my sisters and Ash after all these years without someone dying isn't a miracle then I don't know what is!"

"True. I'll have to grant you that one. Ash is a handful. But, if that's the case, then I have achieved a miracle as well, and I'm far more virtuous."

"Oh yes. The ego maniac is dripping with good virtues that surely win him the highest level of sainthood!" Misty said sarcastically.

"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?"

"Why no, Gary. Whatever gave you that idea?"

They dissolved into laughter cuddled on the couch.

Throughout the evening, Misty avoided any mention of Ash, though Gary still tried to breech the subject, but accepted Misty's avoidance without question. Eventually, the two fell asleep in each other's arms, exhausted, in Gary's bed.

/

"I can't believe we slept until noon!" Misty yelled back at Gary as they ran across the courtyard towards the stadium.

"You should have gotten me up then if you were so concerned!" he yelled back.

"How could I know that you broke the alarm clock?" she asked, running past the blue haired man from the previous day, who was carrying yet another heavy looking box.

"I still don't see why you're so upset! We don't compete today, so it's not like anyone even missed us!" he called as they began ascending the stairs to their seating section.

"We have friends who are competing, though!"

"So?"

Misty stopped at the top of a flight of stairs and stared down at him. "So? They are our friends, Gary. That means that we are there for them when they need us."

"How does standing in a crowd help them exactly?"

"Honestly, why do I bother, sometimes?" Misty asked, frustrated, continuing up another flight of stairs.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Gary asked, chasing after her.

"Nothing, Gary," Misty grumbled.

"Oh no," Gary said irritated. "I know that nothing. It's the 'I'm mad at you, but don't really want to tell you why I'm mad at you, so I have a reason to be pissed when you don't magically know why' nothing."

"Or, it's the, 'the reason is so obvious that a slowpoke could see it' nothing!" Misty yelled, turning on him.

"I'm not a mind reader, Red. I honestly don't know why you're so upset all of a sudden."

"I just—it matters to me, alright? I want to be there for my friends, to show them support. And it may not help them in the battle, but at least they know that they aren't alone."

"Whatever. Go ahead. I'm going to go grab us a bite to eat," Gary said walking down a corridor behind the stands.

Misty turned to walk to her seat in the stands when she ran into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said apologetically.

"Misty?" Ash asked.

"Ash? I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."

"Big surprise," he said, elbowing past her.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Misty asked, turning towards him, her hands on her hips.

"Oh nothing, Misty. I just thought it might be nice if my supposed best friend paid attention to me once in a while."

"Pay attention to you? Ash, I have paid more attention to you through the past three years of my life than I have to myself. Maybe, if you paid a bit more attention to me you would have noticed that."

"Well, I've certainly noticed that you're hanging out with Gary all of a sudden."

"I'm hanging out with Gary for a reason Ash! One you might understand if you took five minutes to see things from my perspective! And it wasn't sudden at all, despite what you may think. We've been hanging out for months."

"And what about what we've had for years? Does that mean nothing now that he's here?"

"Of course not! But, you're not here most of the time and I can't just walk away from my responsibilities at the gym," Misty said passionately. "I have to have friends outside of you."

"Why can't you leave the gym? Your sisters are back. That means you must be able to travel with me again!" Ash said, hope filling his eyes.

"Ash… It's not that simple. I can't just leave. I'm not 12 anymore. My place is in Cerulean now."

"No! It's with me! Don't you see that? It's always been with me!"

"I hate to interrupt," a dark green haired boy said, interrupting their conversation. "but, I believe my partner and I need to get ready for our battle."

"Battle?" Misty asked.

"Oh yea! I forgot. Sorry about that Johnny. I guess I got a bit… distracted," Ash said, glancing at Misty.

"Understandable. Johnny, from Azalea Town," Johnny said to Misty, his hand extended.

"Misty of Cerulean City. Well, good luck you two."

"Thanks. And good job yesterday," Johnny said, before heading to the stairs.

"This..." Ash started. "We're…" then he ran off after Johnny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic still under hiatus


End file.
